You May Only See Your Parents 15 More Times Before They Are Gone
Author Sahil Bloom counted his remaining visits home and calls the result a reverse midlife crisis.
Curiosity Chronicle · I Think I'm Having a Reverse Midlife CrisisYou may see your parents only 15 more times before they are gone.
Sahil Bloom, an author and father, put it this way in his book. Bloom wrote, "I'd only see my parents 15 more times before they were gone." He does not show his math here; roughly, such counts come from visits per year times years left.
Bloom says he felt the same fear behind a midlife crisis but answered it the opposite way, what he calls a reverse midlife crisis.
A midlife crisis, Bloom says, is "action that chases feelings from the past," to impress your 18-year-old self. The reverse is "presence that compounds meaning for the future," to make your 80-year-old self proud.
Bloom says he has grown more aware of time passing, particularly with his son's birth in 2022. His son's life next to his parents' aging made time's speed stand out, the sense that later years fly because each is a tinier share of life.
Questions people ask
What does Bloom do differently in a reverse midlife crisis?
He describes choosing peace, keeping a simple morning and evening routine, quitting spending to impress others, treating health as a long-term investment, and having hard conversations sooner. The common thread is wanting less but better, rather than adding more.
Does the 15 number apply to everyone?
No. The total depends on distance, visits per year, age, and health. Someone living nearby may share hundreds of ordinary days, while someone flying home once a year may share far fewer. The point is that the total is countable.