I turned 40 on April 24th. The big 4-0. Closer to 80 than birth. More than a few grey hairs making their appearance. ‘Laugh lines’ aplenty. A friend asked me if, now that I’d reached the milestone, I thought that 40 really was the new new 30; I responded “well I still feel 30 only now I have to endure a lot more old man jokes…”. I guess if that’s my biggest complaint then things are going pretty well!

My kids give the best birthday presents!

This is printed on the back of my new birthday hoody —>

Because I feel the need to reminisce, here’s a nod to a decade fondly remembered:

When I turned 30…

We were (relatively) new parents with a beautiful, innocent, 1 year old who got all our attention

I was diligently working away for my first employer climbing the corporate ladder as best and quickly as I could manage and trying to figure out if all that time spent commuting was worth it

I spent every winter dreading the long nights and piles of snow

We’d never owned a boat

But by the time I hit 40…

We became grizzled parenting veterans with an 11, 8, and 6 year old and all the crazy that comes along with it

I’d finished an MBA, left my first employer, joined a start-up I was passionate about, left it to create my own start-up, sold it, watched the buyer go bankrupt, sold it a second time, and watched it come to an unceremonious (yet timely) end

Learned to snowboard and started looking forward to piles of snow the apres-ski hot tub

We’d owned a J24 named Gong Show for 3 years and sailed her in fashion true to her name, we cruised Lake Ontario from end-to-end on a Beneteau 36.7 named Exodus with our 3 adventure-loving kids, we purchased a 48’ Hallberg-Rassy with plans for an extended adventure

So here’s to you my dear friends years 30-39, you’ll be sorely missed. Here’s hoping my new acquaintance, year 40, picks up right where you left off and keeps the adventures coming…