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.

OVER-THINKING VS LIGHTENING UP A LITTLE

cresting the hill

GETTING CAUGHT UP IN OVER-THINKING

Over-thinking has been the bane of my generation. I'm don't think I'm the only midlife woman who has spent way too many years thinking every situation to death and back again. I'm sure I'm not alone in doing the whole "worse case scenario" projection - especially when it came to teenage children and their various escapades!

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 with permission 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

cresting the hill

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

cresting the hill

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.

TIME TO SWAP OUR INNER CRITIC FOR A CHEERLEADER

cresting the hill

THAT INNER CRITICAL VOICE

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

cresting the hill

HOW DOES WRITING HELP YOU?

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"

cresting the hill
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"

cresting the hill

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?

cresting the hill

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?

cresting the hill

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

cresting the hill

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.