So I recently hit middle age. By middle, this is assuming I’m going to live to be 100.
I mean I plan on it, but I know that isn’t enough.
I was actually quite excited to turn 50. It sounded fun — and freeing. I love the idea of casting off old ideas and habits and moving forward toward the empty nest with open hearts — and minds.
I am hoping to destroy the idea that I have to be constantly working and grinding to be successful.
Gone are the days of multitasking like my life depended on it.
Embrace the concept that rest, recovery and reflection are essential parts of a happy life.
I make this sound like I had some sort of epiphany, but the truth is that I am a homebody by birth. My favorite place to be is home.
Any event that requires makeup and pants is asking a lot of me most weekends. Also weeknights. Some random Wednesdays.
Young
I am young enough to know I need to cultivate friendships and old enough to be choosy about how I spend my time. I have learned that I no longer enjoy musical concerts (did I ever?), sad movies (no child or animal loss please) or cheap takeout.
I can enjoy a nice spinach salad far more than a greasy burger and the former won’t haunt me for days.
I spent years running hither and yon and sitting sidelines or second row. I cheered through sleeting rain and 100-degree heat and logged more bleacher time than I ever thought humanly possible.
I wouldn’t trade a moment but admit that these days I kind of enjoy a nice comfy couch.
My favorite thing in the world is to go to bed by 10 p.m. and I don’t care who knows it. Most of my friends respect my 9:30 p.m. bedtime. They have one themselves.
Metal
Last year Mr. Wonderful had an idea to make metal into pretty things. I, for my part, thought it was a terrible idea.
Nonetheless, after two decades of marriage, I knew enough about him and his work ethic, drive, and creativity to know that I should support it anyway.
That hobby is now keeping us busy as we travel on weekends to a variety of venues and have lots of fun. If nothing else, I have stumbled on a way to make a man want to spend his weekends at craft shows so that is worth something.
It also means that we lost most any semblance of “time off” and started wearing ourselves to a nub. Success is great, but our motto for 2019 is balance.
Breathe
We can work hard and play hard and still find time to breathe. I want to enjoy fun with family and friends as well as lazy do nothing days filled with hot coffee and snuggly pets.
I want to do better at keeping in touch with who and what we love and less time with things that really don’t matter.
Laugh more, love more, and let the little things go. None of us know how much time we are given.
All we can do is make every day count whether we are in enjoying our 601st month — or something more or less. Embrace the fact that sometimes what makes our life feel like “more” is doing quite a bit less.
