What is midlife, anyway?
Great question. And I don’t know if I have a definitive answer. According to the internet, it’s the transitional period between young adulthood and old age — from about 40-65. Maybe?
For me, it’s less about age and more about where we find ourselves in life. I do see 40 as a turning point. It’s when I kind of woke up to my life and realized that A: It was not infinite (ie: I was going to die some day) and B: I needed to change.
And since the years between 40 and one’s late 50s (where I am now) is a large swath of time, a lot of change has occurred. I got divorced. Navigated getting four kids out the door and off to college. Went from a stay-at-home-mom to working in Corporate America. Stopped drinking and started a 12-step program. Moved out of the town where I’d lived for 30 years. Gained and lost countless pounds. Bought a lot of shit at Target and Old Navy. Gah, and IKEA. Gone on countless first dates.
What you’ll find here
Here’s where the “diaries” part comes in. Each Sunday, I share a snippet of what I have learned along the way. The good and the bad. Sometimes it’s funny, like when I got gum stuck in my hair a while back. And other times my posts are more thoughtful, like what it’s like trying to make friends at midlife or learning about feelings.
You’ll also get a run down of all the things I’m obsessing over each week. Maybe it’s a pair of jeans at Old Navy or a dinner my kids and I made and loved. Or all the spots I hit on a quick getaway or on week in a cabin solo. I’m a pop culture fanatic and always reading, watching, buying the things the people are talking (or TikToking) about. I’m not an affiliate. And def not a gate keeper. I just love to spread the word.
What’s the vibe?
Think of this newsletter like your standing coffee date with your bestie, where we get cozy on porch with steamy mugs and shoot the shit before digging into life. An opening in our week where we can be open and honest and know that we are not alone.
Readers have called my writing “unabashedly real” and that my “honesty is as refreshing as it is rare.” One reader shared: “I can relate on so many levels that it sometimes feels like you are holding up a mirror to my own life.”
“I can relate on so many levels that it sometimes feels like you are holding up a mirror to my own life.”
Midlife Diaries reader
Who am I?
A former compulsive volunteer and stay-at-home-mom, I’m the creator of the blog “A My Name is Amy” and mom to four adult children. I’ve written for newspapers, magazines and corporate blogs about everything from sperm to headstones. Nowadays, I work in marketing for a software company where I create thought leadership content on labor market activity and workforce trends. Yup, it’s been a journey.
How it works
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