I’ve run into some folks around town this summer who know me or follow me here and/or social media and a comment I frequently hear is “WOW ARE YOU HAVING A GREAT SUMMER.” I am, thank you! I AM having a very nice summer. I have a list and I’m checking things off! (This, despite the fact that the garden needs weeding and the baseboards are dusty. But I think the baseboards can wait.)
I decided to celebrate my 54th summer on this planet with a 1-second a day video I made during the month of August. It is a bit all over the place because my intent behind this video changed almost every single day. I debated whether to show a visual list of joyous moments, for example, or more ordinary ones. Should the theme should be #VacayEveryDay? And then I wondered, too late, if there were too many selfies. Sigh. Well, it is precisely all and none of those things as you will quickly see.
Midlife crisis? Nah. This is my midlife comeback.
Seeing it laid out this way reminds me that anti-aging could be defined as remembering to live. And I guess that’s ultimately what I tried to do this monthlong project.
Related to this… The other day I test drove the phrase “SEMI RETIREMENT” in a conversation at the gym and as soon as it rolled off my tongue I heard it reverberating through the room and saw it clunking to the ground in a sad dusty heap. As it sat there, surrounded by awkward silence, I remembered that I wasn’t entirely happy with this term.
As I grappled, someone helpfully pointed out I am “consciously choosing a path of improved life balance,” which I would say is phrasing that is closer to the truth. I appreciate the reframe, kind gym friend!
I am choosing a life of improved life balance. That being said, it’s not all wine and roses. I am still feeling antsy. And I am still skimming LinkedIn and meeting with folks about job-related things. And I worry… but maybe that’s just my brain struggling to find a new gear. I have not resolved big questions in my mind about Life’s Purpose and what I should actually be doing right now. But I do think I am heading in the right direction. Maybe.
