First of all, if nothing I say here pertains to you, and on top of that, if nothing that I say pertains at all to people in our age group, I apologize. This is just my own theory and observations. It is simply meant for some lighthearted conversation this evening.

My theory is that we are in a similar place as we were when we were 18 and heading off to college. We are staring at being "old," though just a different definition of old. When you were 18, someone who was 22 with a full-time job was old. When you are in your 50's, old is literally old. The reaper is heading in your direction, and that can be just as scary (or scarier) as an 18 year old looking at imminent adulthood.

With that said, I think many people in our generation fall into one of trade categories...

1. Bored: for many, the kids are out of the house or heading there, and you don't have the day-to-day distraction of making sure that they are fed, happy, and taken care of. Suddenly, if you are married, you just have your spouse. You either grew alongside them all these years, or you grew apart. Many people I know are unhappy because they never pursued their own interests, or pursued interests alongside their spouses. They just adopted the role of parents, and once the kids got older, they didn't know what to do with themselves. There's no passion, no drive, and no excitement.

2. Cheating/Divorced: For many of those people in the first category, it leads to the second category. Either you're the cheater, or the cheatee. Your marriage is in a tailspin, or it's heading there.

3. Self Actualizer: If you are in this category, you are trying to outrun the reaper. If you are married, you are growing alongside your spouse and looking for new ways to keep life interesting. If you're not married, you're also looking for ways to keep life interesting. You are looking to expand your horizons, have fun, and inject a bit of adventure into your day-to-day existence.

Am I missing a category?