I opted for the truck a few months ago and have not looked back.
There are many reasons for it. Yes, time and that sneaking suspicion that I might be mortal has been the primary contributor. But, there are others. I am older and wiser and more comfortable making the big decisions that will make me happy. My caregiver role—a role that will always be a part of who I am—is diminishing. And, I don’t want to live with any regrets. I lost my mother very unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm when she was just fifty-two and my younger sister from lymphoma when she was thirty-two and had just given birth to her first child. These losses had a profound effect on me, and after years of balancing career and family, I now find myself wondering how to manage this most precious commodity called “the rest of my life”.
So, even though I am off-road at the moment and the route is not decided, I can tell you what I will not be doing. I won’t be driving a corvette or having plastic surgery or buying Christian Louboutin shoes. No. I will spend my mid-life crisis laughing more, spending treasured moments with loved ones, writing, and trying out new and fun activities (maybe dancing or yoga?). I may even reenter the rat race at some point. Who knows?
I do know that whatever I do, I plan to live this all too short life to the fullest. So, all you other mid-lifers out there, go for it! Have fun! And, for the record? A laser facial is not considered plastic surgery. Just sayin’.
As Bette Davis once said, old age is no place for sissies.
~Valerie~