middle age woman Archives - Page 3 of 6

Sunday Soul

I’ve been haughty and I’ve been humble.

Humble feels better.

I’ve been valid and I’ve been vulnerable.

Vulnerable feels more connected.

I’ve been smart, salty and sassy.

But that was all to cover and soothe

My sweet simple soul.

I dined by myself last night.

Table for one.

It was

Delicious.

“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.” – William Wordsworth

“Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn. ” – Thomas Gray

Readers, I’m feeling like today is a good day for poetry. Please take the time to write down the poetry flowing from your heart today and please post it to my Comments section, if you have the inclination. Love, peace and poetry are my wishes for you today. Tranquility.

Date With My Bed

Image result for friday quotes and memes

Happy Friday, friends and readers!!! I don’t know about you, but I worked hard for this Friday – emotionally and physically, but now I am all spiritually happy! I am in my Friday mojo!! New readers, it is all about the stuff and fluff here at Adulting – Second Half on Fridays. Nothing serious is discussed or even contemplated. On Fridays, I list three favorites: things, books, beauty products, music selections, pet products, food/drink etc. Please give us some of your favorites in the Comments Section and please check out my previous Friday posts for more favorites. Here are this week’s favorites:

Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration by Meera Lee Patel – My dear friend gifted me this beautiful journal. It looks like it is hand painted. It is full of gorgeously painted famous quotes and then a section with questions, guiding you to how the quote might apply to your life. She bought herself one, too and we were laughing that the only problem with it, is that it is so pretty, we don’t want to ruin it with our own messy handwriting. Check it out and learn about yourself in the process!!

Girl Power Feminine Venus Symbol Earrings – “The two standard sex symbols are the Mars symbol ♂ (often considered to represent a shield and spear) for male and Venus symbol ♀ (often considered to represent a bronze mirror with a handle) for female, derived from astrological symbols, denoting the classical planets Mars and Venus, respectively, and the elements … ” – Wikipedia

I first saw these earrings on Carly Shannon of the TV show, Travelers. She was a total bad ass character, so I think I thought that maybe if I would get and wear these earrings, I would feel more bad ass, too. I also noticed that Dog’s (the bounty hunter) late wife Beth wore them as well, and no one could deny her level of tough.

Anyway, I love these Venus symbol earrings. I got mine on Etsy from a shop in Norway (women are bad ass all over the world). The shop is called MistyAurora. They are the perfect size – big enough to be noticed, but not too big to be considered over-exaggerated. Girl Power!!

Hadaki XBody Bag – I’m fickle. I get bored easily. I like a lot of variety when it comes to my accessories. Still, I have carried the same Hadaki crossbody bag, as my “official dog walking bag” for years now, and it still looks brand new. Keep in mind, I walk my dogs almost every single day, and at least once a day. My particular bag is a brightly colored, laminated cloth bag, with a sturdy nylon strap. It is big enough to carry poop bags, hand sanitizer, bug spray, a small credit card wallet, dog and horse treats, and my phone. The quality of this bag is unparalleled. Hadaki is based in New Orleans, one of the best cities in the United States!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

I Wish All Days

I wish all days felt as happy and cheerful as the days when you bring home a new puppy.

I wish all days felt as cozy as the days that are so snowy or rainy, you have no choice but to wrap yourself up in a blanket and relax and read.

I wish all days felt as safe as the days when all of the people, who you love the most, are right under your roof, happily chattering away and doing their thing.

I wish all days felt as deliciously anticipatory as the days you are expecting the delivery of an interesting package.

I wish all days felt as hilarious, as the days when you read, see or hear something so funny that you laugh so hard, so much that it hurts, or you even pee your pants a little.

I wish all days felt as wondrous as that first day of vacation in a new place that you have never been before, and this place is entirely different than anything you have ever seen or have experienced.

I wish all days felt as satisfactory and full of relief, as the days that a job is completed, and it is completed well, to everyone’s delight.

I wish all days felt as exciting as the days you get a job offer or a college acceptance or you make the team or get a part in the play.

I wish all days felt as miraculous and full of relief as the days you hear that you, or a loved one, are completely healed from a serious illness or medical emergency.

I wish all days felt as comfortable and relaxing and full of acceptance, as the days when you have a long lunch with dear, long-time friends.

I wish all days felt as delicious as the days when you really, really savor eating something especially scrumptious, without any guilt or hesitation.

I wish all days felt as magical as the days when it all seems to come together – you look good, you feel good, you do good and you have all of the right words.

I wish all days felt as luxurious as the days, when all you did was love and cuddle your babies, and smell their precious little heads.

I wish all days felt as satisfying as the days when you achieve a physical goal and you feel pride in that accomplishment, in every fiber of your being, physical, mental and spiritual.

I wish all days felt as easy and whimsical as the unscheduled days on our calendars.

I wish all days felt as mystically reassuring as the days you find a lucky penny.

I wish all days felt as sexy as when you have those “lost in your lover’s eyes” moments that seem to convey everything that words cannot convey.

When I looked at my “I wish all days” list, I experienced the very feelings that I was writing about, all over again. So I guess that I am having one of those fabulous days of feeling cheerful, cozy, safe, anticipatory, amused, wondrous, luxurious, satisfied, excited, grateful to God, accepted, satiated, magical, proud, whimsical, reassured and sexy. In fact, I felt all of those feelings in the hour that it took me to write the list. I experienced all of those wonderful feelings in just one hour! I highly recommend that you write your own “I wish all days” list and give yourself the gift of a lot of positive energy and possibility, all in about 1/24th of your day. And then, when some negativity starts seeping in, read your list to yourself, and you can feel all of those terrific feelings, in just a few minutes. Try it. It works.

Ironies

After our recent renovation, my husband and I got extremely organized in our bedroom/bathroom. And, as per my annual summer request, my daughter got her bedroom/bathroom organized, as well. My son is still working on my request for bedroom neatness and organization. We can only hope.

The real kicker is, now my daughter and I, can’t find anything. I almost had a nervous breakdown looking for a designer watch my husband had purchased for me. I decided to whittle down all excess packaging, despite the fanciness of it all, so that I could get to the watch easily and it would take up less space. I mean the watch is very nice, but it’s not the Hope Diamond. I don’t want to have to spend 15 minutes opening all sorts of leather boxes and suede bags, jumping through laser mazes, and cracking codes, only to finally get to my watch and figure out that I am running 20 minutes late. I imagine if the watch had come in simpler packaging, we could have saved at least $100, but that is for a different blog. Anyway, I whittled down so much of the packaging, that I had forgotten where I put the watch. I started to worry that in my frenzied whittling, I had just pitched everything, including the watch. (Don’t worry, honey, I finally found the watch. It was in my “good” jewelry box. The watch was where it makes sense for it to be, but of course, I looked everywhere else for it, first.)

My daughter looked horrified the other morning, despite trying to keep an air of calm. She told me later that she couldn’t find important paperwork for her new volunteer position. She admitted that it took her two hours to find what she needed. “Where did you finally find it?!” I asked.

“In a folder, in the top drawer of my desk,” was her reply. “As I was looking for it, I thought to myself, I never should have cleaned up my room. I always knew where everything was, before the clean up.” Then she looked at me pointedly, clearly annoyed.

My son, her brother, hasn’t lost anything, so far, this summer. His keys are always under the gum wrappers, on the floor, in his room. Irony.

Free-form

Just some random, scattered thoughts on a newly minted summer day:

My husband and I talked to our eldest son last night. He was talking about some of the new friends he has made in his new town. He mentioned that the one man is quite chatty. I wondered if that got on my son’s nerves, but he said, “No, not at all. I find it kind of effortless and relaxing, to talk with him. I say one sentence and my friend just starts talking. It’s kind of like listening to a podcast.” We all need those chatty Cathy types when we just don’t feel like talking, don’t we? I thought that the “the podcast” quote was an interesting millennial spin on this type of situation.

Our collie is quite pushy when she wants to be pet. She has a very long, Collie nose and if you quit petting her, she nudges under your arm with her long nose, trying to get you to pet her again. It’s a trait of hers that I find endearing and annoying, in equal parts. There are times I am writing my boopuojqou uajoy qauru (collie nose nudge). She is particularly nosy when I am writing my blog. Dogs can be like little kids, they want your attention the most, when you are completely absorbed in what you are doing. They only want your full-on attention, when they don’t have it.

The other day I decided to just poke my hand into a neighborhood community library (the kind that looks like a little bird mansion) and just pull out any random book and try to read it. I ended up pulling out Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson. Ironically, about a month ago, I was perusing a vintage book store (are all book stores now starting to be considered “vintage”?!? boohoo) with my middle son, and he asked me to buy him a copy of this very same book, as he had heard that it was an excellent, must-read classic. I bought it for him and I didn’t give it much else thought. I had read it years ago. However, I don’t believe in coincidences. (My friend taught me that coincidence is God being anonymous.) When I pulled the book randomly out of the bird mansion, I decided the Universe was making a point here. I was meant to read the book again. Who Moved My Cheese? is a quick, excellent read, with the bottom line of the book being – Expect, Embrace and Move Along with Change. Change has been a pretty constant theme of my life, especially in the past year or so. I have tried not to resist changes or to be surprised by all of the changes happening in our family’s collective lives, but I could stand to do some self observation, to find areas where I might still be a little “stuck.”

I ordered this really jazzy, glittery, glitzy, girly, rose gold nail polish that is not part of my usual style paradigm. A woman who was waiting on me was wearing it and I just thought, “Wow!” Just, “Wow!” I wonder if I should wait until it arrives, or just do my much-needed toenail polish change now and have the amazing new color to look forward to, the next time that I desperately need a nail polish color change? (which in the summer is much more frequent) Hmmmm.

Okay, friends. I let you inside of my head this morning. Put your random thoughts in the Comments section. Sometimes random, free-form thoughts are the most provoking, intriguing thoughts of the day.

That’s My Story

I think that my stuff has reproductive capabilities – especially my shoes, clothes, handbags and accessories. And I think that my stuff is particularly horny and rabbit-like. Our new closet shelving gets installed in the next couple of days, but in the meantime, my stuff is spread all over the house creating a thickening, sickening, stifling layer on every surface that we own. It feels like we are being overtaken by The Blob.

Our piano, I believe, is still somewhere under the pile of shoes. We haven’t heard from it in a while. (honestly, we haven’t heard from our piano in a long while, since even before it was covered with shoes, but that’s for a whole different blog) Our dining room table is probably buckled under the weight of handbags and blouses. I don’t know. I haven’t seen it in about a month. I am truly shocked that a fire hasn’t started, because the stuff is piled so high, on top of the table, that the top layer is melted on to the chandelier.

I’m honestly not a hoarder. I give a lot to Goodwill and to the veterans. I have the tax receipts to prove it. I don’t get particularly sentimental about most of my things. I totally buy into the whole Marie Kondo (famous Japanese organization guru) idea that if something doesn’t “spark joy” in you anymore it is time to pass it on to someone who might find some sparkle of joy, by owning it. That’s why I think that my things are breeding and propagating. That is where all of the accumulation is coming from, I believe.

Now my husband would probably chime in here and say that if my theory is true, my things’ method of propagation is assisted by my shopping habits. He would say that their fertilization is highly assisted. I couldn’t argue that point, in good faith. So right now, I want to force myself to simmer in this feeling of suffocation and claustrophobia, in order to keep my future shopping habits in check.

We aren’t one of those families who has lived in the same house for 25 years. No, we have actually gone through 4-5 major moves and more than one major renovation. These have been good, solid cleansing opportunities that we have taken full advantage of, over the years. That is why I am truly shocked that we still have SO MUCH STUFF. That is why I believe that my stuff has reproductive capabilities. And that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Natural Cycles

“Parenting: the days are long but the years are short.” – Anonymous

The school year is wrapping up for our youngest two children, the two who are still at home. My youngest son graduates from high school next week. We are all ready for summer. We are weary. The crescendo, that ends every school year, is in full force, with awards ceremonies, and with AP and final exams. Our renovation project is finally near close. I can hear my body, making louder what it has been whispering to me the last week or so, “Time to rest. We need rest. Rest.”

I have been living the natural rhythm of parenting and the constant cycles that go with raising children for the last 23 years. I wonder if my body will naturally stay with this cycle for a while to come, even when our last little birdie spreads her wings and flies away, in just a few short years. I wonder what part of you figures it out first, that you now have an empty nest and a new cycle of life; that your cadence will shift? Is it your mind or your body or is it your spirit?

“The success of love is in the loving – it is not the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done. ” – Mother Teresa

Heaven’s Waiting Room

People like to say that Florida, where I live, is Heaven’s waiting room. There are a lot of older people in Florida, that is true. However, I must add that the older people in Florida are among the healthiest, “youngest” elderly citizens whom I have ever encountered.

There is a man who lives in my neighborhood, who I have only talked to a handful of times, yet I consider him to be a major inspiration for what I want to be like when I am elderly. He is in his 80s and every time that I see him (which I feel like happens on almost a daily basis), he is doing two things: smiling and exercising. This man waves to everyone, whether he is walking or biking. I don’t think that I have ever encountered him in a bad mood, even when he was an officer for our neighborhood’s homeowner’s association. (This is no easy feat.)

Pablo Picasso said that we don’t age – we ripen. Florida is a good state to ripen in. Smiling and exercise and sunshine are good conditions to ripen in. This man proves the point that age is just an attitude. I think all of us who are getting older should have gratitude for that fact. It means that we have been given more days to age and to ripen. Every day that we are alive is a precious gift of wonder and miracles. There is no wonder why my neighbor is smiling and soaking in the sunshine as he waves to everyone on his bike. He gets it.

Potty Break

Yesterday, I ran a lot of little errands. And I had stop at the restroom, at almost every errand stop. That is one of the biggest physical changes, I have noticed with the aging process. I used to have a super-charged, extra large bladder. It was like I had an internal super sponge. Not to brag, but my bladder was like an internal extra-absorbent adult diaper. Even when I was pregnant (many times), I could hold it longer than most people. I got annoyed with people who had to stop a lot, when we were on road trips. I would ask trip buddies to eat grapes, instead of drinking any liquid on the road. (okay, not really, but my friend’s dad used to implement that rule when they traveled on vacation, for real. I thought that this was a pretty novel idea before I could empathize with the need for frequent bathroom stops.) Then, when I got deeper into my 40s, looking for the bathroom, became first priority, no matter where I went. I suppose that a big part of aging, is gaining compassion. Everything that annoyed you about other people when you were younger, will be inflicted on you, personally, when you are older, to drive the empathy and compassion lesson, home.

“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.” ~George Bernard Shaw

Cool Cats

“Life is the most difficult exam. Many people fail because they try to copy others, not realizing that everyone has a different question paper. ” – Smart Thinking, Twitter

I thought that this was an apropos quote for this time of year, with so many high schoolers and college kids taking their final exams and AP exams. And of course, the Met Gala just happened. No one tries to copy each other at the Met Gala. They totally try to out-do each other, and especially, to out-do their own previous Met Gala red carpet entrances.

Wouldn’t life be so much more interesting if we lived Met Gala lives, versus copy cat lives? When I look around these days, it sometimes feels like we are headed in that direction of unique, enthralling and strange, but in a good way. Instead of being threatened by it, I think that I am going to embrace it. I’m going to think outside of the box, a little bit more.

I’ve mentioned before that I love to check out Nature’s Lovers on Twitter. Today there was a beautiful picture posted of a Eurasian Lynx. I found out that there are actually four different varieties of lynx and 40 different known species of big cats in the world. The Borneo Clouded Leopard is not trying to be a Fishing Cat and the Caracal is not trying to be a Margay. (there, I gave you some interesting things to Google on this fine Tuesday)

I suppose that this post is just serving as a reminder to all of us to “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” – Oscar Wilde