Midlife Crisis?!?
Well here I am approaching my 41st birthday in a few weeks and wondering am i in the middle of something they refer to as a midlife crisis? What is this you may ask?
mid·life cri·ses
NOUN
loss of confidence in middle age: feelings of self-doubt and a lack of confidence experienced by some people when they become middle-aged
Well what ever the definition something has happened. Good or bad here i am... in the middle.
Reflection seems to be at the top of the MLC agenda, sometimes what you see in the mirror is not quite what you expected.
As i look back on my past 40 years there is alot of Heartbreak, Love, Stress and Happiness much like anyone that has made it mid way through their journey.
I have made some good and bad choices in my life, but always try to do the right thing in the end. You cant make it to this milestone without some regrets and definitely some sense of self doubt about where you are.
Is this a different place for women then men? I think so.
Sometimes you see the MLC man driving down the road in his new red convertible with the top down and his comb over flowing in the breeze or sitting in a restaurant booth with a woman you could mistake for his daughter. I have known a few to just take this transition with all the suave you would expect from a man taking an honest look at himself. being honest with himself and changing the things that needed to be but at the same time maintaining that boyish sense of "Friday night" fun.
A woman on the other hand can be a little reckless also at this stage, seeking what she thought she has missed out in the years she was a giver to so many and not herself. There is always the same cliche things that we can do but is that where we want to go with it? Sometimes i think doing what is not expected makes life more interesting!
I have a few weeks left to soak up my 40th year before rounding the corner into full on midlife so ill take this opportunity to be reflective not just on myself but on those that came before me. Those that have also made mistakes and had successes that come with truly living.
In this ill be grateful for my passing stage of life, i have had Love, Laughter, Family and most of all a strong will to become a individual always trying to improve my tomorrow. This is me seeing my next chapter as a way to find fulfillment in the Hobbies that i love, holding tight to my family, getting the education to fulfill my dream of making a difference and being able to Love and be Loved by those surrounding me.
The bottom line is Life whether in the beginning, middle or end can be as we want it to be...unexpected or planned this journey is Awesome.
mid·life cri·ses
NOUN
loss of confidence in middle age: feelings of self-doubt and a lack of confidence experienced by some people when they become middle-aged
Well what ever the definition something has happened. Good or bad here i am... in the middle.
Reflection seems to be at the top of the MLC agenda, sometimes what you see in the mirror is not quite what you expected.
As i look back on my past 40 years there is alot of Heartbreak, Love, Stress and Happiness much like anyone that has made it mid way through their journey.
I have made some good and bad choices in my life, but always try to do the right thing in the end. You cant make it to this milestone without some regrets and definitely some sense of self doubt about where you are.
Is this a different place for women then men? I think so.
Sometimes you see the MLC man driving down the road in his new red convertible with the top down and his comb over flowing in the breeze or sitting in a restaurant booth with a woman you could mistake for his daughter. I have known a few to just take this transition with all the suave you would expect from a man taking an honest look at himself. being honest with himself and changing the things that needed to be but at the same time maintaining that boyish sense of "Friday night" fun.
A woman on the other hand can be a little reckless also at this stage, seeking what she thought she has missed out in the years she was a giver to so many and not herself. There is always the same cliche things that we can do but is that where we want to go with it? Sometimes i think doing what is not expected makes life more interesting!
I have a few weeks left to soak up my 40th year before rounding the corner into full on midlife so ill take this opportunity to be reflective not just on myself but on those that came before me. Those that have also made mistakes and had successes that come with truly living.
In this ill be grateful for my passing stage of life, i have had Love, Laughter, Family and most of all a strong will to become a individual always trying to improve my tomorrow. This is me seeing my next chapter as a way to find fulfillment in the Hobbies that i love, holding tight to my family, getting the education to fulfill my dream of making a difference and being able to Love and be Loved by those surrounding me.
The bottom line is Life whether in the beginning, middle or end can be as we want it to be...unexpected or planned this journey is Awesome.
I love this Michelle! Well said :)
ReplyDeleteI can't say much about a mid-life-crisis (MLC haha), but in my nearly decade and a half of life there are things I've seen and done that are awesome just as you said. Already life is a journey and I love to see you, my example, my role-model, my friend, and a loved one of mine embracing it fully. Age is a number. We gain wisdom. We overcome trials. We accomplish things we've dreamed of. And they are all in life.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, it's awesome. And I'm sure glad I can share it with you.
-lauren
cougar!!
ReplyDeleteHey M n ...
ReplyDeleteMid Life Crisis, is a noun? News to me!! Seems to me that it should be a verb, as a MLC takes action. You know, "I am going through an MLC". "Bob is having" a midlife meltdown. I guess we could go through a MLC in our head and question our choices, motives, feelings, and doubt our previous life, which might make it a noun, but that would not constitute any of the action that a MLC rewards. It is one thing to think of my future comb-over flapping in the wind from my Red Corvette convertible as part of self-doubt, but damn don't take away my one last opportunity to feel the cool wind blowing on my sunburned noggin and feel really really good about it. Heck, I see it as still havin it.
And why must I feel like I am a old dirty man because a spicy little number wants to ride in my car, use me for my money, and make me feel like I am 18 again? I am once again...Da Man. Who in the heck decided that was a bad idea anyway? :)
So let's put away our Puritanical beliefs for half a second, don't want to go on too long as given my age hell is closer now than it was previously, so we can unravel this MLC mystery.
I begin with asking what is a MLC halfway to? Halfway to a number symbolizing death? Age is just a number right? Halfway to the promise land. Someone give me a sign! Halfway towards isolation in an old folks home, ok, that one might be true. But keep in mind, if I live to 120 then I am actually only 1/3 of the way there. Does this mean I need to have a 2/3 life crisis at age 80 as well? Guess that is when the Viagra gets me aroused but I don't have the energy to do anything about it and that spicy number comes with her own teeth. But once again I..Da Man...
We already know the last 1/3 rd is going to be a crisis but we will never know it because we have outlived our friends, wonder who the person is helping us put on your pants and sit by the window wondering if someone will come by to walk me today. And from what I understand 90 yr old men strangely enough have old man breath. Or is that if I am 90 in dog years. I digress.
to be con't
con't
ReplyDeleteI prefer to believe that we are just experiencing life. And "middle age" is a place we have been before. The childhood decision to break mammas rules and become industrious, the teenager who says I will listen to my music and dance to my own beat. The 20 year old who says I will be the unorthodox woman and become an engineer. Or the 30 year old who finally understand sex and find it is really really good.
Mid life is no different. We are now just at a place where we have expectations and ties that bind so trying to find ourselves looks once again "odd", "rebellious". I would argue that the midlife crisis is no more self-doubt as it is the teenager trying on those alternative lifestyles that have the conformist in their mini-vans screaming you can't do that because I chose not too. Don't leave me here in my misery. It is without a doubt understanding more about whom we really are, the person we hoped we would be and what we should do about it if we aren't.
So it seems to me Michelle has much of life figured out, at least half of it, and for the rest she will comfortably try on her new shoes and walk in those she find comfortable. (I am thinking she prefers swanky boots.) Fore, she already has found the strength to love with the intensity of someone who is confident in being WOMAN. Mother's with true understanding of selfless provider. Values beauty and worth in the invisible people who walk among us. Brings the blurry to focus in the blink of a shutter. And buries her soul deep into those she loves.
So if you are lucky enough to watch her closely you will recognize her as the fall leaf vibrant and bright knowing just the moment to shine brightly against the gray autumn sky.
I hope that during this lifetime I too will find the strength and peace that Michelle has found in "living". I dare not wait for another, as the ink well can only pen so many notes.
...M