This is how it goes.

We survived our terrible teens (although, if I’m being honest, it was more terrible for our parents who had to deal with our insubordinate asses). Still, we made it through.

We lived through the wildness of our 20s, where life was carefree, we thought we knew everything there was to know about everything, and we were the center of our world.

During our 30s, we finally began to grow up and settle down…a little. It all clicked, and responsibility took on a whole new meaning.

Then we hit our 40s. Thoughts of sliding into the abyss began to fill our head and soon we find ourselves fighting to climb out of a hole. “I’m getting old,” we whispered to ourselves. A wrinkle here, a bit of sag there. What’s a woman to do?

Now, it’s the halftime show. We’re in our 50s and beyond. The good news is we made it this far. The bad news? Oh gosh, where do we start? The metabolism, the menopause, the thinning hair, the pooch around the middle. This is it, ladies. This is midlife.

Or is it?

We expect this time in our lives to be filled with nothing but shittyness. And why wouldn’t we? It’s been crammed down our throats by the media, the magazines, the everyday Joe on the street: we’re midlife women and we don’t matter.

Can we say bullshit?!?

For every woman who falls for that line and gives in to the dribble, there’s another woman who laughs in the face of that nonsense while raising her middle finger high in the air.

Life may not be all about what you make it, but your outlook sure as hell can make a difference.

Time marches on. As midlife women, we’re the wall upon which people throw the shit to see if it sticks. If it does, then we’re destined to be bound by the perceptions of others. If it doesn’t, then we’re writing the chapters of our lives and living according to our script.

We either live by the rules or we break them. We’re either the good girl in the family or we’re the black sheep. We either plan our lives out down to the last millisecond or we fly by the seat of our form fitting pants and say ‘what the hell’. Or . . . we’re somewhere in the middle.

The point is, it’s our lives that we’re living. Why let the prejudices, misconceptions, blindness or dismissive nature of someone else dictate the path on which we walk or how we walk it?

Don’t we deserve more out of life? How are you adulting? Better yet, how are you midlifing? Just something to think about.