Ha, funny I was looking for which comment to reply to and looks like I found it.  I&#x27;m 47 and just started my first freelance gig after the startup I was with got bought by big blue.<p>Just finished my second day in an &#x27;open layout&#x27; office of 20 somethings as a front-end lead (react&#x2F;redux) after working remotely from home with a small team of &#x27;seasoned&#x27; pros for the last couple of years.<p>I&#x27;m sure there were some raised eyebrows when I showed up but that seems to have passed now mostly because they see I know what I&#x27;m doing.  I&#x27;ve had a few moments of reflection wondering what the hell am I doing here but I love software development and made a conscious choice not to take the management route.<p>Had my first of 2 kids @ 40 and find when I start slipping into a regrets of what I haven&#x27;t accomplished I see them and am reminded of my real purpose these days.<p>I still feel young on the inside but sometimes look in the mirror and have to acknowledge I&#x27;m not 20 something anymore and that&#x27;s a bummer. But I was walking to work this morning pondering all of this and walked passed someone sleeping on the street and checked myself.<p>I remember the first time I saw Doug Crockford and had a profound realization that you don&#x27;t have to outgrow programming.  Seems silly now but not at the time.<p>My dad is 77 and can still kick my ass on a squash court so I try to focus on what is still possible instead of reflecting on what I haven&#x27;t done.