Review of middle age: 3.5 / 4 stars

I’m 41, which is the statistical midpoint of an American woman’s life. I’ve been thinking about how my life is going: pretty well! In seventh grade, on my science teacher’s birthday, one of my classmates asked if she was sad to be getting older. She smiled and said, “No, I like myself better as I get older.” I found that reassuring, and I’m writing this partly to give a picture of what a happy life can look like. In my dorky mom hat era I got lucky in my life structureMy mental health improvedI learn lessI have more institutional knowledgeI have fewer new experiencesMy week has long-term relationships built inI’m less hardcore about everythingI baked in a life with more stability and less impactThe kids take less of my attentionHealth: still good so farMy biggest uncertainty about the future: AI I got lucky in my life structure The older I get, the more I favor a pretty conventional lifestyle: Find a stable partner, Invest in a life together long term, and probably have children. I…