In our first years of life, it’s up to our parents to track the early birthdays — each one a celebration of major growth and development, from our first steps to the first day of school to the completion of the first decade of life.
By the time we turn 10, most of us are counting the days, weeks, and months until we turn 13, then 16, 18, and 21. It’s human nature to look ahead to the next milestone birthday, though by the time we hit 40, we’re often shocked by how quickly the years have passed. Later in life we may find ourselves dreading the next big birthday, just a little. But as the adage goes, “Never regret growing old — many are denied the privilege.”
Indeed, as life progresses and changes us, the passing years bring new wisdom and different forms of joy. From those long-awaited teen years to the privilege of living to see 100, these quotes offer insight and humor for every decade of life.
Childhood
Children see magic because they look for it.Christopher Moore
Teens
on a succession of masks in the hope of finding the one which suits them — the one, in fact, which is not a mask.W.H. Auden
20s
Happiness comes out of being willing to do your work in your 20s to find out who you are, what you love.Candace Bushnell, author
30s
Thirty was so strange for me. There was no turning back. I’ve really had to come to terms with the fact that I’m a walking and talking adult.Matt Dillon
40s
It was only in my 40s that I really began to feel young. By then I was ready for it.Henry Miller
50s
The process of maturing is an art to be learned, an effort to be sustained. By the age of 50 you have made yourself what you are, and if it is good, it is better than your youth.Marya Mannes, author
60s
When you’re 16, 30 seems ancient. When you’re 30, 45 seems ancient. When you’re 45, 60 seems ancient. When you’re 60, nothing seems ancient.Helen Mirren
70s
I mean, you must take living so seriouslythat even at 70, for example, you’ll plant olive trees —Nâzim Hikmet, poet
and not for your children, either,
but because although you fear death you don’t believe it,
because living, I mean, weighs heavier.
80s
The advantage of being 80 years old is that one has many people to love.Jean Renoir, filmmaker
90s
If you are still functioning and not in pain, gratitude should be the name of the game.Betty White
100 and beyond
May you live to be a hundred years. With one extra year to repent.Irish toast
Photo credit: Vera Anderson/ WireImage via Getty Images
