Well, here I am at Day 2 of my Second Half of Adulting. I wish I could say that the watermelon sized lump in my throat has gone away, but it hasn’t. In fact, I woke up in “Moody Trudy” mode for sure. Then I did the worst thing you could ever do. I fed Moody Trudy by going to Facebook, which is not something that I even do very frequently. So even though I am having a nice summer and we had a truly awesome memorable family vacation before my son left home, the comparison monster, made me feel even more miserable looking at everyone’s happy faces on their delightful summer adventures and travels. Then I slogged Moody Trudy for not being a better person and feeling happy for all of her dear friends and family, which just spiraled me even more. This is not a good way to start the day nor my second half of adulting, but it is what it is and the truth must be told.
Now, in the first half of my adulting, I learned that we women need each other. Yes, we can be each other’s worst enemies or passive aggressive “frenemies” (on an aside, when I started my first job out of college, I asked a female manager what was the hardest thing about being a professional woman and without a blip of hesitation she said, “other women”), but in the end, no one “gets us”, like us. I have gotten discerning over the years and I have learned to put up better boundaries. This has helped we whittle it down to primarily two solid groups of women friends with whom I can keep it real. Really real. So, this morning, I texted both groups. Turns out, I’m not the only Moody Trudy today (which is not surprising in a group of chiefly middle aged women, many with a few teenage kids in the mix) which helped me feel supported, eased me into a lighter mood and got me “out of myself”. I was then able to help other friends with their own problems which helped me to put my issues into perspective.
Bottom line, today emphasized something very important to keep and to treasure in my second half of adulting – the awesome support of true, kind friends. Maybe I should keep a list of “keepers” for my second half?!? Number one on the keeper list: Solid female friendships.