By the time the mother crosses her fortieth birthday, her teens could begin to leave the nest. The fifties also tend to be highly productive. Generally, both men and women have passed through their midlife reevaluation and are now using their wisdom and experience to make a significant impact. They have prioritized their lives, thrown away unnecessary obligations, and focused their energies on their redefined dreams. The productivity of the thirties seems to be characterized by doing everything at once.
Energy is boundless and opportunities are abundant.
The productivity of the fifties comes out of more life experience and wisdom. Energy is not limitless, but wisdom and refined focusing often make this second productive era the most effective. The anxious years are generally the late thirties or early forties for a woman and the early to mid-forties for a man. A period of stress due to menopause may also occur in the late forties or early fifties for women. The man in his early to mid-forties will ask the same kinds of questions.