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.

I love Autumn as a season - it would be my second favourite season to Spring. It is a time of crispness and of cool mornings and evenings without the all enveloping cold and rain of Winter. In Western Australia, Winter is fairly mild compared to those below zero seasons in other countries, but it can still seem dull and interminable as you navigate your way through dark mornings and rainy days.

THE MILDNESS AND PLEASURE OF AUTUMN

Autumn on the other hand has all the benefits of Summer without the extra hot days. It's a lot like Midlife where the heat and intensity of youth (and then parenting youths!) has worn off, but there are still all those long leisurely days before the onset of the aches and pains of old age. It a pleasant time full of warmth and leisure - a time for reflection and gratitude. A time to be thankful for what we've grown through, and a time to anticipate what still lies ahead.

"There's something about Autumn that wakes up our senses and reminds us to live"

A TIME TO REFLECT AND EMBRACE WHO WE ARE

I am constantly aware of Midlife being the time I have to enjoy being my own person again. The responsibilities of parenting children are behind me - I just get to be the cheer squad or the sounding board now that they are grown and flown. I feel like I'm waking up again and rediscovering what life has to offer. I'm open to new experiences, I'm not tied up with what other people think is important, I'm free to be my true self.

I don't envy those in the Summer or Spring of life - I've been there and enjoyed those seasons of heat and clamour and busyness. Instead, these Midlife years are long and languorous - full of days where life cruises by. I know that Winter is coming, but it is still a long way off and there is time to slow down and enjoy the colours and vibrancy of the Autumn of life.

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35 comments

  1. I love this Leanne, I have never thought about the seasons of life. Autumn is my fav season though, the colours, the weather, the beauty in nature, plus we married in Autumn and had both our daughters in Autumn so I love it. I love your out look and where you took this prompt! Beautifully written #Fridayreflections

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    1. thanks Mackenzie - it just kind of flowed out once I started thinking about it - I definitely feel like Autumn is my season :)

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  2. Love this Leanne! What a lovely way to describe midlife - autumn is one of my favourite times of year. Although where I live it still feels like summer during the day so perhaps that is how my life is - I'm in the autumn of my life but still enjoying parts of summer. #FridayReflections.

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    1. Yes Sue - the cold hasn't set in yet so we still get the warmth of Summer but minus some of the worst bits - like the flies and the sunburn. Autumn is a beautiful season - of life too x

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  3. Give me the winter days and nights any time. Can't wait for jumpers and hoodies and a fire and the rain and....

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    1. I guess that means you will have a fabulous old age Suzi - the chills of winter will suit you and you'll be all cosied up by the fire (being looked after by those young things!) x

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  4. Autumn is also my favorite season...so I love this post!

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    1. thanks Pam - it's gorgeous here in Australia x

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  5. Great analogy! Enjoy each season as it comes!

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    1. Exactly Shari - don't wish for a different one - just immerse yourself in the one you're in x

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  6. Beautiful post! I love Autumn too, the colours and that Autumn smell in the air! #FridayFrivolity

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    1. It's such a lovely break after the heat of summer and before the onset of those dark winter days!

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  7. Indeed! I'll add to your metaphor and state that in autumn, we can reap a little of what we sowed in the heat of summer. Our years of tending crops like work and family means that if we're lucky, the field outside the window can be harvested to feed us through the winter.

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    1. I love that Mithra! It's nice to think that all the work you put in over those first two seasons comes to fruition in Autumn :)

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  8. I much prefer spring because Autumn tells me it won't be long before the daylight gets short and it gets cold and snowy outside but I agree with you on the metaphor of Autumn for mid life. My dad would say that retirement is like graduating from high school, you have tons of choices.

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    1. I love Spring too Lee - but I think Autumn is the perfect analogy for midlife - maybe not quite as fresh as Spring, but still a really beautiful season :)

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  9. How absolutely lovely Leanne! And so true, I do not envy those in the spring of their lives and nor would I ever want to go back there and I agree, we must enjoy this time for who know what is ahead of us. Thank you for participating in #blogsharelearn

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    1. I think we need to realize how wonderful this season is Elena and not keep looking backwards thinking that life would be better if we were still in Summer or Spring - I wouldn't go back there either :)

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  10. What a delightful reflective post, Leanne! I enjoyed this and perhaps more so because autumn is actually my favorite season. In Ohio we are just coming out of winter toward spring soon.

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    1. It's funny to be in opposite seasons to most people I know blogging Pam, but it also gives me a bit of a different perspective sometimes - except when I see all those soup recipes and we're sweltering in the middle of Summer!

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  11. I love all the seasons, Leanne, and your take on the seasons of life makes me think how great it is to think that "where you are is your favorite place to be." Enjoy our autumns -- both of them! :)

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    1. Thanks Wendy - I intend to make the most I can out of Autumn - the more you appreciate something, the more special it becomes :)

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  12. An appropriate analogy. I love the beginning part of autumn when the sun can still warm you and the colors are glorious.

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    1. me too Jennifer - kind of like life for me right now :)

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  13. Hi Leanne, what a lovely post. I love your analogy. Like you spring and autumn are my favourite seasons, and I do believe I am now in the autumn of my life and I'm hoping it's going to be a very long one.

    It is nice to have a little time to enjoy doing the things I want to do without constantly having to think of the children.

    xx

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    1. That's my life in a nutshell Debbie - and I hope my Autumn is a long one too! :)

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  14. Autumn is my favorite season too. I guess I'm in my Autumn of life as well, Is 50 Autumn? I suppose it is. I sometimes miss when my kids were little, but I hope I have grandkids to look forward to. I do love having more time to myself though!

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    1. Yes 50 definitely qualifies as the early days of Autumn Lori - still bright and warm, but with long, leisurely days ahead (and Winter still a long way off!)

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  15. I remember a poem by Wordsworth, if I'm not wrong, called Human Seasons..It was about the seasons of life..Childhood as spring, Youth as summer and so on...It was one of my favourites..Your post just reminded me of that..

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    1. Thanks Nabanita - I'll have to go and google it :) it certainly tallies with how I see life unfolding. x

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  16. I am definitely enjoying the Autumn of my life (though I am still doing the child rearing thing thanks to having a baby in late summer, ha ha!) beautiful imagery. Thanks for linking on #FridayFrivolity - I hope you come back next week.

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    1. I like the late Summer analogy Audrey - and that baby of yours will keep you in Autumn longer than the rest of us - so an added bonus!

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  17. Hi Marilyn - I'm so glad you're feeling better and living every day in the moment - it's really all that any of us can ask for really. Winter will come, but in the meantime we can enjoy our Autumn to the full :)

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  18. Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. The colors changing and the cooler weather. I'm not in the autumn of life *yet* but I look forward to every season and do my best to embrace the season I'm currently in.

    Thank you for sharing on the #SundayBlogHop it's always lovely to *see* you and what you're sharing :)

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    1. Everyone has a season and enjoying that particular time is what life is all about - not wishing yourself back or forward, but being present and appreciating what that season has to offer. I love that you are embracing yours :)

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