Category: middle age
-
More Jack Dawson, Less Cal Hockley
Assuming you have seen the movie Titanic at least twelve times, you’ll recall Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Jack Dawson as a happy, lively and engaging young guy. Though attractive, Cal Hockley (Billy Zane) is conversely entitled, arrogant and haughty. Jack embraces life as indicated in his famous dinner speech: I mean,…
-
Thieves: Stop Stealing. The Rest of Us: Stop Enabling the Thieves
Good people understand the extensive questioning and background checks required at church before being permitted near children. We accept walking in our socks through airport security to ensure our safety. Where is the line drawn for…
-
When the Adult Kids Move Back Home, Must Mom and Dad Step it Back Up?
My husband and I were slow to adjust to the empty nest. When our third child moved out a year ago, we shuffled through the house aimlessly for a couple of months. Cooking dinner according to the kids’ various work and gym schedules was no longer necessary. Going out to…
-
You’re Middle-Age When…Commercials
You fondly remember the hilarious, super fun, feel-good television commercials of the past. Now? Commercial watching is ruined. Big pharma is one of many reasons to only stream commercial-free tv. Christmas commercials used to be a gentle, snowy, nostalgic-generating 15-30 seconds during a December television show. Super Bowl commercials even…
-
Mid-Life Snoring?!
While raising my three children, the mere whisper of “Mama” at 2am bolted me straight up and out of REM sleep. If one of them rumbled a quiet cough, I was awake. My eyes shot open at the sound of someone streaming water from the fridge at 4am. Like most…
-
Ever Have Vertigo?
On my knees, I gripped the bottom of the bedpost white-knuckled, squeezing my eyelids tight. “God, please make this stop,” I begged. Then I assured myself, “I know it will stop. I’m ok. It’s ok.” My second run with vertigo recently ended and it lasted seven weeks. The first time…
-
You’re Middle-Age When…Powders and Supplements
The protein powders…supplements…even exercise become more about health, less about appearance! Sure, some products can multi-task, but by mid-life for most people, the primary interests become feeling good and staying healthy. When I tried various vitamins, collagen, etc., in the past, they were more about looking good. Then: Omega-3s for…
-
Persevere My Fellow Pilgrim
The addict in front of me on a Thursday afternoon is free from prison, but according to his Dad, remains in a caged mentality. I happened upon him and his father, randomly crossing paths the day after the 30-year old was paroled. The addiction which led to theft for cash…
-
Lunching with my Grown Up Baby
While pushing a triplet stroller (twins and my third 22 months younger), random strangers regularly offered advice…at the park, at the mall… (when strolling at the mall was still a thing)… wherever I might be causing a scene with a three-seater. Of all the suggestions I politely listened to as…
-
When I Returned, The Workplace Had Changed
Cultural differences A few years ago, I was working in Human Resources with father and daughter co-owners of a small healthcare company. Having moved to the U.S. with an unlimited cash stream from their home country, they wrongly assumed that money really can buy anything. Payroll was viewed as a…
-
Are We in “Mid-Life” or on the Back 9?
Speaking in golf terms for my husband, I answer across the room, “we are on the back nine, no longer in mid-life”. He’s not happy. “Why do you have to say that?” We were talking about him turning 60 last summer and me being deep into my 50’s. It’s a…
-
Blog Relaunch
Welcome to Family5Power – Tales from a Mid-Life Mama! If you are still a subscriber, thank you for sticking around! If you are a first time visitor, please join me in this new adventure. The photo on the left was my WordPress icon for many years (my youngest daughter), writing…
Tales from a Mid-Lifer 