THE JOY OF BEING THE MOTHER OF AN ADULT DAUGHTER

mother and daughter

BEING THE MOTHER OF AN ADULT DAUGHTER

It's my daughter's  birthday tomorrow - and I often can't believe how much time has passed since she made her entrance into the world....and made her presence known in every possible way from that day forward! I've refrained from the embarrassing baby and child photos and thought I'd focus on the joy of having a grown-up daughter instead.

WE'RE NOT OUR GRANDMOTHERS - WE'RE SO MUCH MORE

we midlifers are reinventing middle age - we are young, bright and vibrant! We're not our grandmothers - no we're so much more! #grandmother #nana
picture shared from Zen to Zany facebook page

WHEN YOU ARE MUCH MORE THAN A "GRANNY"

A friend of mine shared a picture to my facebook wall the other day saying that she thought of me when she saw this photo and quote. It took me a bit of sleuthing and research to find where it originated, but eventually I tracked it down to Zen to Zany on facebook - where there was a myriad of interesting artworks and quotes.

IT'S FRIDAY - BUT SUNDAY IS COMING!

Good Friday - the true meaning of Easter - It's Friday but Sunday is coming!

IT'S GOOD FRIDAY

It's Good Friday, and I want to say that I am so grateful for the true significance of Easter. I have been a Christian for many, many years and, for me, Easter is one of the most meaningful dates on the calendar - even more so than Christmas. It encapsulates all I believe in - the amazing sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross and the triumph of him rising again on Sunday - what's not to be grateful for?

KNOW WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE

#midlife blog ~ crestingthehill.com.au

WHO I AM

One of the lessons midlife is teaching me is that I have a lot to offer. I'm not a callow youth who has no life experience or wisdom. I'm a mature woman who has lived and loved, worked and played, lost friends and found new ones, and the list goes on. I have a lot to offer!

The A-Z of Positive Personality Traits

the A-Z of positive personality types

THE A TO Z OF POSITIVITY

This is my first attempt at the April A-Z blogging challenge. The idea is that you post each day of the month of April (minus Sundays - because we all know they are a day of rest) using a different letter of the alphabet. To make it a little trickier you can choose a theme and focus your A-Z posts on your topic. I thought I might as well go the whole hog and pick a theme - so I've opted for Positive Personality Traits - something we can all work on in our lives.

"damn you Steve" and the blame game


learning how we play the blame game - and changing that into not needing to be in control of everything

This week's #FridayReflection is: "Share your favourite TED video / talk and tell us why you love it so much". What I'm sharing isn't actually a Ted talk, but it is from Brene Brown who has some amazing insights into why we do the same small destructive things over and over again.

This clip is about blaming - it goes for less than 4 minutes and I originally came across it because my husband (the family counsellor) sent it to me - I think he may have seen some small similarities in my behaviour (fortunately his name isn't Steve or I'd really be in trouble!)

In another short video I watched recently Brene talked about boundaries and empathy and giving people the benefit of the doubt. A lot of what she has to say is about taking responsibility for yourself and your feelings. Not trying to blame or sugar coat - just letting things be as they are and dealing with them in an adult and intelligent manner.

I've got a long way to go with this (hence the video being shared by my beloved!) but it has given us a catch-cry to use whenever the blame game starts - DAMN YOU STEVE!

Here's the video if you want to have a quiet smile to yourself and you might even find it helpful too!


whenever you start to play the blame game I hope Brene Brown's "damn you Steve" reminds you to stop!

time to swap our inner critic for an inner cheerleader

stop criticizing yourself and see what happens

I'm not sure why it is that I am so quick to criticize myself. I seem to have a program in my head that is all about judging myself and finding fault. When something goes wrong I can hear that little program/voice saying "I told you so, sooner or later you had to stuff it up!" Logically I know that this stems from a childhood of being the oldest child and always trying to be perfect, but it is so hard to shut that voice up!

STAINED GLASS STAIR RAIL INSERTS - THE FINISHED PRODUCT

How I created a stained glass stair railing - from boring rails to an eyecatching feature. #stainedglass #leadlight

STAINED GLASS/LEADLIGHTING

Last year I wrote a post about ticking leadlighting off my bucket list. I hadn't realized that leadlighting wasn't a common term - I assumed everybody interchanged it with stained glass, but apparently that's not the case..... Anyway, I made a very simple stained glass image that resulted in a few cuts and bandaids - and an amazing sense of achievement when I'd finished it.

FOR THE LOVE OF WRITING A BLOG

#midlife blog ~ crestingthehill.com.au

This week's #FridayReflection is: How does writing help you? and all I can say is that writing/blogging is a world unto itself. It has helped me re-define who I am and what my season of life is all about. Who'd have thought that a bit over a year ago when I put my first thoughts down on my laptop (instead of the ones I'd been putting into my journal every week for years), that this blogging journey would become a force in its own right? Who'd have thought it would take over part of my heart and not let go?

RE-DEFINING MIDLIFE AND FINDING A NEW "NORMAL"

It's time to redefine Midlife and find your new normal. Don't sit around mourning the loss of your youth or your adult kids - here's how to reinvent yourself and start living!
no midlife crisis for me - I'm celebrating all that midlife has to offer!

CREATING A NEW DEFINITION OF NORMAL IN MIDLIFE

Midlife for me is defining myself within a new set of parameters. I've discovered that there is a new meaning to the word "normal" for women of my age and stage. We're not content to be pigeon holed into the role of grandma or house mother to adult "failing to launch" children. We're not sitting at home waiting to claim the pension. We're reinventing ourselves and Midlife is taking on a whole new look.

LEARNING TO BE HAPPY WITH "ENOUGH"

Do you have a mindset or scarcity or abundance or maybe something in between? That "something" might be gratitude because you have enough. #enough

WHAT IS YOUR MIND SET ON?

I've noticed that there is a mental attitude creeping into our lives today that focuses on 'scarcity'. So many of us have a mindset that thinks we're missing out. We don't have as much as other people have, we don't have as much money as we'd like, we don't have as much time as we'd like, we don't get as much sleep as we'd like, we don't get as many lucky breaks as we'd like, and the list goes on.

IS AUTUMN THE SEASON OF MIDLIFE?

loving being in the season of Autumn - mild and mellow - much like midlife!

AUTUMN AND MIDLIFE

Autumn is just beginning here in Australia and I thought it was quite reflective of my stage of life. It feels like I'm still in Summer, but things are cooling down and there is a refreshing breeze and a hint of Winter to come - much like Midlife.

WHAT MAKES A "REAL" WOMAN?

Midlife is a chance to become real - to discover your authentic self and to share the journey with with others on the same path. #midlife #authenticity

THE SCOURGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media bombards us with images of "real women" - from reality stars, to movie stars, to models, to politicians, to news anchors, and the list goes on and on. But is that really who a "real" woman is? Most of the time these women have been groomed to fit a reality that is not what I see as "real" or even desirable. Who wants to live on lettuce leaves until they die, or constantly be camera ready in case someone takes your photo?

LOVING THE JOURNEY INTO MIDLIFE

Midlife is a journey into becoming who you are meant to be - rediscovering yourself and refining your relationships.

MIDLIFE WOMEN AND THEIR JOURNEYS

I often think about all the Midlife women out there in the world who are waking up and wondering who they are, now that their children have left home, or they have retired, or they've moved house, or changed jobs, or lost friends or loved ones. Life moves on and nobody can stay in the same place - even if they want to.