I believe it's a mix of different reasons, one being maturity. However, I think some of it is seeing your current generation slide by to the newer ones, and trying to hold on to it, and cherish it. Like a sense of pride, especially when you have kids because you want them to learn and understand how things were when you were younger, or how your own generation functioned. Newer generations tend to not care much about the prior ones...until they get older. I think in the process of all that, you start looking at your parents, grandparents, etc., generations are get a better respect for them, and return you start wanting to learn more about them. Likewise, you start just getting more interested with history in general going to all periods. It's like you get a new perspective and respect for the history before you.
There are many other reasons probably too, but I kind of got that way from the above. Also I liked watching mystery shows on history. I liked those shows (he has books as well) from people like Brad Meltzer, who went into some of the conspiracy theories....as well as other shows. Whether they are right or wrong, they are fun to watch, and the history of it piqued my interest. I had to have fun reasons to 'go back' rather than 'think forward.' I actually like learning about history more than trying to decipher the future.
If you have members in your family with that have some history behind them, I think it's also a gateway to learning more from those periods. It can be simple stuff like Civil War ancestors, WWI and WW2 ancestors etc. etc. That's why I get addicted to genealogy...mostly....that, and just wanting to see how they looked.
