tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post9142651279751139322..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: The Crisis in MidlifeAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-53214294791181951942018-04-06T17:23:16.399-04:002018-04-06T17:23:16.399-04:00I just visited a friend whose husband retired a fe...I just visited a friend whose husband retired a few years ago, and they moved down to TN to a house on a lake. He putters around all day, trying to stay busy. She's never worked, so never cared if she was or not. Since she'll be 65 this year, she calls herself "old." I only have a few years to go until then, but I told her that "young" is your teens, twenties and thirties, when everything works well and you never have to wonder if it will or not. The forties starts middle age, when pains appear, but usually go away. Middle age lasts into the fifties and sixties, when (hurrah!) women finally stop having to get cramps once a month. I figure old starts in the 70s, when things often don't work well, like in that song by Little Feat, "And you know, that you're over the hill, when your mind makes a promise that your body can't fill..." <br /><br />I'm trying to stay optimistic that I can be creative and do worthwhile things until my spirit has grown so large that it has to abandon my body, to move on. They won't be the same things I did when I was young, or even that I do now; but I'm hopeful that I will still find enjoyment in life.Fiona McGierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13495707848048468428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-58118821392621872652018-03-31T12:57:23.351-04:002018-03-31T12:57:23.351-04:00What everyone else has said.What everyone else has said.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-60989788070551912682018-03-19T11:18:33.903-04:002018-03-19T11:18:33.903-04:00Sweet of you to say, Lisabet, but there may be som...Sweet of you to say, Lisabet, but there may be something wrong with your eyes. :>)<br />Will check out your story. I assume it's available on your Amazon page.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-31690002450356145742018-03-19T10:11:06.742-04:002018-03-19T10:11:06.742-04:00When I was your age, Giselle, I was afraid I'd...When I was your age, Giselle, I was afraid I'd waited too long and missed any chance to accomplish anything worthwhile. I'm immensely impressed by all you've done already, but I can also attest that whole new enterprises can be begun after, even 55, when I began final attempting to do what I'd always intended to do. Maybe not in the ways I'd intended, but using the same skills, and maybe only worthwhile for certain limited values of worthwhile, but Ill take it. Having done so much already, and with the state of writing and publishing these days, it's understandable for you to feel down, but "midlife" just means that there's plenty of life to come, and plenty to learn and do. Maybe you don't owe the world any more contributions, you just owe yourself whatever enjoyment you can find, and let things take their course.<br /><br />Damn, I sound pompous and foolish, don't I. The privilege of being well past midlife. <br />midlife Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-72003254973077763612018-03-19T09:00:14.790-04:002018-03-19T09:00:14.790-04:00Giselle -- I've come back to comment on this p...Giselle -- I've come back to comment on this post three times, wanting you to know that you've been read, and been heard. But I don't know what to say. I can't argue with your feelings or your perceptions, even though I think you're wrong (that is, I think you have a lot more to accomplish and contribute). <br /><br />You're only in your forties, right? That seems so young to me (I'm in my mid-sixties).<br />Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-14684656683197704602018-03-19T08:58:34.046-04:002018-03-19T08:58:34.046-04:00Well, having met you, I'll say I thought you D...Well, having met you, I'll say I thought you DID look good.<br /><br />In fact I have a character loosely modeled on you (Nick in my holiday tale Gray Christmas).Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-13019964411574781832018-03-18T11:51:32.080-04:002018-03-18T11:51:32.080-04:00Another thing. Nowadays I'm always being told ...Another thing. Nowadays I'm always being told "You looking good". Funny, nobody ever told me that when I was 20, when I really did look good. <br />Sigh...Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-19424507481275102142018-03-18T11:47:59.283-04:002018-03-18T11:47:59.283-04:00At 73 I still feel that I'll accomplish more. ...At 73 I still feel that I'll accomplish more. Maybe not in areas that require the strength, optimism and libido of youth, but certainly in the art world. With the exception of writing, I don't have the abilities to create art like painting, sculpture or music, but am able to recognize the good from the bad. <br /><br />Though I can't afford to buy high art from retail galleries, I do have the knowledge to see a bargain where it's not supposed to be. I cruise flea markets, garage sales and thrift stores, looking for things that catch my eye. Even if the objects won't find a place in our little home, I maintain a venue to sell them.<br /><br />Just in the last year, I've found a keeper painting, a gorgeous unsigned bronze ballerina, and a signed Japanese bronze of a stylized cypress tree. Total outlay for those three items? $93. Plus, treasure hunting is fun.<br /><br />In 2012, I went to Thailand and found a very old Chinese jade that when sold, just about paid for the trip.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.com