Mid-Life Musings

As some of you may know, I am a 50-something mom and grandma (otherwise know as Muma and Oma). This new age bracket has brought many joys (RJ and Baby Aus) as well as many challenges. I could write buckets about the challenges associated with this time of my life. The hot flashes, the joint stiffness, the moodiness, the inability to get a decent nights sleep....see I could go on and on. But, since the point of this blog is to highlight the best of things, I'm not going to focus on that. (I do know I'm not supposed to start a sentence with the word but. Twelve years of Catholic School, weren't entirely in vain. It's just easier to write, the way I talk.) Instead I am going to focus on the good things that have come from being in my 50s.

So, here are some of my favorite things about being in my 50s:

1. More time - With my kids, mostly out of the house (Stinky is about to turn 17...and other then his general messiness, traffic tickets and occasional attitude issue, he's pretty easy to deal with.) I finally have time to do and think about other things then being a MOM.
   


2. A Burst of Creativity - Honestly, don't know where this came from. Never really had it before. My guess is that I was just too busy creating children that everything else got lost. Suddenly, I'm making cards, invitations, Christmas ornaments, cooking, baking and now blogging. I do think this is a natural part of the aging process. I have a very dear friend who after years of neutral tones, painted every room of her house in a different, brilliant color. I think it was her way to express her new and changing inner self. (And so you know, it looks amazing.)
   


3. Relaxed Attitude - I find that I just don't care as much about what people think about me. By this point, the people in my life are there because they like or love me and that's all that really matters to me.
   


4. Wonderful Girlfriends - I have remarkable and fantastic girlfriends whom I cherish now more than ever. I think I first realized this at Caity's bridal shower. We invited a group of my girlfriends, who are all from different parts of my life, but I have been able to cross-pollenate them, so that they now all know and enjoy each other. Sitting at the table surrounded by these wonderful friends, filled me with such joy and happiness. I realized at that moment how lucky I am to have these women care about me. I'm also lucky enough to still be in touch with a group of girlfriends from High School. How cool is that! Later this month we are having a get together at Miller's (a bar in Dearborn with great hamburgers) to plan out our 35th High School Reunion. Truly amazing and enpowering.
   


5. Sage Advice - At this age you find yourself being much more retrospective. I so wish I could talk to my younger self. There's so much I would like to tell her. Mostly, just relax and enjoy the moments. Don't be in such a hurry to have the kids grow up. There will be time to do all the things you want to do. And to all you younger women out there, please cherish all those hormones surging through your body. Revel in them. Be proud of them. Cause you won't believe how much you will miss them when they start leaving you.
   

Now, if you sat down for a few minutes with my 80-something Mom, I'm sure she'd have different points on her list. Which only means, I'm still not done learning and I'm still not done evolving into my better me.