Redefining Midlife
Remember when you were a kid—or you still are—and midlife seemed impossibly far away? Well, I’m standing here now… or at least knocking on its door. And let me tell you, in all of my wildest imaginings of what a “midlife crisis” would look like, it wasn’t this.
I’m back in school. Yep, you read that right. My kids are grown—one is in her twenties, the other about to turn eighteen—and I decided it was finally my turn. For years, my career was being their mom, supporting my husband, and cheering them on. But now? It’s my shot. So back to school I went. And I told myself, it can’t be as hard as it was when they were two and six, right? Yeah… nope. It’s been harder.
The Juggle is Real
These days, I juggle being a student, mom, confidant, life partner, friend, business owner, and a woman with more talents than she knows what to do with. And somehow, I’m thriving. Don’t ask me how—I’m not sure I know.
Sure, there are days we hit the drive-thru because I forgot to pull something from the freezer, never marinated the chicken, or just got too absorbed in school to notice the time. But that doesn’t mean I’m failing. I wrestle with this a lot, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not failure—it’s survival. And if we can survive the next three semesters, I’ll come out on top.
Weathering the Semester Storms
It’s confession time: by this point in a semester, I’ve usually cried at least once and threatened to quit more than that. But I know this storm will pass. I’ll be 44 in a few days, and I’ve been through worse—this is just a blip on the radar. And my younger self? She’d be cheering from the stair tread she used to sit on for hours, reading, because I’m so close to finally earning the degree that will let her chase the job she always dreamed of.
Pinterest Mom Energy (Sort Of)
Do I need to slow down? Possibly. Will I? Honestly, I doubt it. Right now, I’m hurtling down the track toward a dream I never thought I’d actually chase—it was always an “I’d love to one day…” and now one day is knocking on my front door.
I can’t promise I’ll always look like a Pinterest mom or fantastic content creator with her ducks in a row, girl-bossing through life. But I can promise I’ll give it a damn good try.
Here's to the Chaos
Here’s to the chaos: the late-night drive-thru cheeky cheeseburgers, the meal plans that inevitably go awry, writing on my iPad in bed because I’m too tired to sit at my desk, and crying over spilt water from my latest rabbit hole—watercolors (which sounded like a good idea at the time). Here’s to Instagram posts thrown together last-minute because I forgot—or because Florida weather ruined the lighting. To Kindle batteries sitting at 20% because I fell asleep mid-chapter, and floors that don’t get washed because “I don’t have time”… or because I got gloriously sidetracked.
If this is what my midlife crisis looks like, then so be it. I’m going to love every second of it, keep finding myself along the way, and hope you’ll stick around for the ride.
