Everybody is a little scared of turning 40, at least on some level. Turing 30 says “adult,” hitting 50 means you’re officially AARP-eligible, but at 40, you’re “middle-aged.” The wear and tear begins taking its toll on you, and all of a sudden you begin forgetting why you went into a room. As Millennials approach the milestone, things look a bit different than they did when Baby-Boomers — “Boomers” to today’s generation — reached it. The start of middle age no longer means sending your kids off to college, getting a divorce, or buying yourself a Corvette. The new 40 means having toddlers running around, buying your first home, and catching up on retirement savings. Things happen in midlife that the Millennials may not be prepared for — like realizing that their aspirations don’t align with reality. By the time you’re 40, you can’t sing, you can’t play the guitar, and you’re finally willing to give up on that dream of becoming a rock star. Millennials are finding themselves in the “sandwich” phase of life — managing the care of their parents, agreeing with those who say exercise is crucial, and maybe even seeing themselves in the Progressive commercials that admit they can’t keep you from becoming your parents. Millennials have worn delayed adulting like a badge of honor, but now that they’re turning 40, they're realizing there’s no more avocado toast, no more watching TikTok videos into the wee hours of the morning, no living in the folks’ basement, and most of all……no more blaming the Boomers for everything. After all, Millennials are only 20 short years away from being Boomers themselves.
