Grading life's happiness on a curve

Middle age is depressing.

According to data collected from more than 200,000 people in 72 countries, happiness follows a U-shaped curve. That means people in their 20s and 60s are happy and people in their 40s are depressed.

The news makes me giddy.

Forget my achy back and minor Parkinson's tremor. Overlook my buddy's second bout with breast cancer. Ignore my cousin's surgical rendezvous for knee replacement.

Being 60-plus is the giggles.

It's midlife that's miserable.

Andrew Oswald of Warwick University in Britain told reporters, "It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor, and to those with and without children. Nobody knows why we see this consistency."

Oswald led the study with David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College.

From Austria to Zimbabwe, 40 was the point at which most individuals emerged from their funk. Of course, we're different. The researchers found U.S. men were almost 53 before they snapped out of it. U.S. women shifted back toward happiness around 39.

Writer Susan Estrich says she knows why life turns into the pits at the middle: "Mortality, illness, career disappointments, dreams that aren't coming true. Your parents get sick and die. Your kids grow up and leave home. Your professional life hits the brick wall of reality as you realize you aren't going to be president or CEO or have your own show or that house on the beach. Reality bites."

Estrich says she's encouraged by the academics who found that if you make it to 70 and you're still physically fit, you're likely to be as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year-old.

"I can't wait. Actually, I can. It's something to look forward to."

Wow. All of a sudden, putting on the years is cool.

Of course, Oswald and Blanchflower are economists. They note that people who have more income are happier than their poorer counterparts. That's a surprise right there.

There's another study, the General Social Survey, that asks Americans to rate their happiness on a three-point scale with "very happy" a three; "pretty happy" a two and "not too happy" a one. The average happiness score in the United States is 2.2, says Joel Waldfogel at www.slate.com.

What's interesting, from my viewpoint, is that the timing of a study on old-age happiness comes as the boomers pound their way through midlife.

Telling that generation of 72 million that glee-filled years are just around the corner sends a positive message in a time of sliding home values, job insecurity, talk of recession and inflation.

But being on the upside of the U-shaped curve, I'm asking myself if I'm happier now than I was at 40.

Where was I at 40?

Living in the Midwest, a single mom of three, coping with the daily cost of living and worrying about how I was going to get those kids through college.

And now?

I'm a widow living in California. Only two of my three children remain, but they are both doing very well in their careers. I have seven grandchildren. I'm still working at a job I love. I have my own house and pretty good health.

On a scale of one to three, I'm a 2.7.

I suspect that's about as good as the U-shaped road to happiness gets.

Winning the lottery might push my quotient up a point or two, but better to settle for what I've got.

U know what I mean?