Life is an arc with childhood the beginning and old age the end. In our earliest years our potential seems boundless and time stretches on forever. As we age we must come to grips with the realities of life, our limitations, situation and our luck. Philately helps people with the psychological issues that they face as they age and this is probably one of the reasons why people begin to reconnect with their hobby as they get older. Every collector has their goals. Some make them easy to attain such as collecting United States 1940 to date, some more difficult such as Tonga Tin Can Mail, and other virtually impossible such as Inverts of the World. What we choose and how we go about accomplishing it helps us deal with disappointment which is one of the major issues of old age. The happiest collectors I have found are the ones who pick somewhat aspirational goals but which are still reasonable. They push themselves to get the material that they need but are forgiving of non completion and see their collecting as a process with the goal being the doing not the having done it. As we age, this understanding helps us with the vicissitudes of health, friends, career, finances and family.