If I am completely, mathematically honest with myself, I am middle aged.  If I make it past 90 (with brain and body still functioning at a life quality level) those are bonus years.

I can only speak for myself, but I have found being in my forties a very reflective time. My teens were fraught with changes and mistakes.  Multiple moves and school changes, bad choices, situations that I was not equipped to handle, decisions made that still nibble at my conscience.  My twenties were spent trying to work through the war-zone of my teens, building up, moving forward, finishing my degree, getting married.  Being in my thirties was all about babies, learning to be a parent, and trying to function on very little sleep.

Now, I am in my forties.  I am not new to forty.  I am part way through this particular decade.  My children are older, so the intensity of care has lessened a bit.  I am not dealing with any huge changes or crisis right now.  So, for the first time in forever I have space in my head and time in my schedule. I am half way through my life journey and trying to figure out what is next.  I am no longer a struggling teenager, future building twenty year old, or overwhelmed parent (well, at least not as frequently).  I feel good (most days), look good (when I stop scrutinizing all my wrinkles), and I am healthy.  Forty feels like a turning point.  If I have another 40 or 50 years, great.  What do I want to do with those years?  What do I want to experience or re-experience?  What do I want to be now that I am grown up (at least on the outside)?  What do I need to do to make sure those years are healthy years?  Who do I want to be?

No mid-life crisis here.  Just a mid-life reflection.