...because what many people regards as a male midlife crisis, is regarded by we middle-aged men as no crisis at all but as the time has arrived when, (relatively) secure in our jobs having worked hard and long to advance this far, having saved and invested money for everything from the family home through the family health insurance to the family schooling funds, and having driven for years first in cheap bangers then in staid family wagons, we finally no longer have to defer all gratifications and we can buy some of the toys and indulge in some of the behaviours that we have quietly been savouring in anticipation.

We're not talking about dump-the-wife-and-remarry-the-bimbo behaviour; that is dishonorable and not a question of no longer deferring gratification but rather a question of greed and appetite. We're talking about having at middle age what you have not felt comfortable to prioritize earlier.