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Mid – Late Womanhood

There will be many chapters in your life. Don’t get lost in the one you’re in now.

–Toby Mac

What chapter are you on?

This might be the chapter where we are exhausted and overwhelmed by all the demands of our lives. You know, the one where we somehow became the doer of everything because if we don’t, it just will not get done. Every day, we hit the ground running, and the blur of the day crosses our minds right before the pillow.

Is this the chapter where we start to realize how disconnected and isolated we are? The feelings of anxiety and depression seem to be our new norm. We dread tomorrow while simultaneously replaying the failures of yesterday.

Maybe the one where we had decided or agreed to put off our career to start a family. Now, we are struggling with the idea of going back to school or the workforce and have fears and anxieties about such a major transition. Or maybe it is the chapter where we are trying to find balance and peace while managing a career and a family.

Embracing the empty nesting chapter, watching our children leave the safety of home to explore the world on their own. We begin to realize that we have put so much time and effort into our role as mothers that we forgot to grow a world outside of them. Now, we are left filled with a sense of sadness for the loss of identity.

How about trying to heal our self-esteem and self-confidence after the divorce chapter? The chapter where we are faced with starting all over again. We are trying to be strong for the kids or be civil with our ex for the kids, struggling with how to manage life beyond marriage. Dealing with fears of being alone yet reentering the dating world far exceeds that fear.

Enduring the inevitable menopausal chapter, the freaking out because our emotional and physical bodies are changing due to the life transitions we must face. We only heard stories from those who had gone through it, and here we are, struggling to maintain some sense of sanity as we experience things we never dealt with before.

Accepting the responsibilities of the caregiver chapter, the one where we take care of our aging parents or an ill partner. Struggling and confused by our feelings and thoughts that seem counterintuitive or shameful.  We shouldn’t be feeling this way, yet hidden within, sometimes these feelings and thoughts haunt us.

Letting the past go, learning how to put self-care first, and expressing our doubts, fears, regrets, and dreams chapter – the one where we shed guilt and shame. We acquire and apply knowledge that enhances our abilities to accept and embrace who we are. This chapter becomes the guiding theme from here on out.

Sometimes, the greatest chapters are the ones that are messy and scary, yet are full of opportunities to keep getting better. I know because I have experienced many of these challenging chapters in my life. The trick is trying not to flip the page too fast when we now know there is so much magic to be had with the day we are in.

TIME HEALS! What we need is support and nurturing along the way. Our life is an ongoing book being written daily. Sometimes, revisiting the pages of the past can offer great benefits toward a new story for today. Other times, just recognizing where we are and how to navigate is all we need to move forward. Whatever page you are on, let’s turn the page.

I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.

– Harold Kushner