Aging is a process. Unlike the maniacal bazillionaires we see in movies who enlist the services of a mad scientist with wild hair and eyeballs that move independently of one another to prolong his life no matter what the cost (and it’s typically some variety of elixer that glows in the dark and made from the urine of a nubile young virgin), we simply can’t get around getting older, no matter how many pills, creams or off-the-wall drinks we imbibe.

Whether it’s midlife or beyond, there’s always going to be something we either love,  hate or both about it.

People have a lot to say about midlife. Here is round two of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly . . .

The Best and Worst of Midlife

mid – life

who knows the time of their death?
I was once convinced of a time,
but it has passed.
When is mid-life?
Is it a moment?
A year?
A decade?
For the Newborn, who has but moment left in their life, when is mid-life?
As for Methuselah, did he know after some 400 years that he was approaching mid-life?
The questions we have, or is it only me?
Maybe, just maybe,
it is mid-life when we begin to respect what we have gone through and still come through to the other side.

Joe
Joey K’s Place

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The best part of midlife is being a grandparent….at first I panicked at the thought of someone calling me “Grandma”, but I got to pick my grandparent name and chose “Gigi”.

Even better, taking my granddaughter out shopping with me and having someone tell me “My DAUGHTER is adorable”……Grands really do keep you young!

Deb
The Quilt Factory

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My layers of stomach, my creased face, my droopy butt, my jiggly arms. They all tell a story. I’ve been through stuff, but the stuff didn’t keep me from doing other stuff in life. It’s a battle, but I choose to work with the enemy rather than push back with all my might. Remember that song, “High Hopes” about that little ant moving that rubber tree plant? I’m sort of like that plucky little fella. Life is daunting, but not so much so that I choose to give up. I just work with what I’ve got, which is better than stressing so much about how squishy my body has become.

Nicole
[P.S. I don’t have a website, but if I did these are the types of things I would write about.]

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The good: I feel less impatient with everything. I think it’s the dual impact of aging, which equals mellowing, and the positive influence of my better half. I also like that in my profession, many people regard me now as someone they go to for advice and insight.

The bad: I sometimes feel there’s less ahead of me than behind me. That saddens me and drives me to enjoy more, explore more, experience more.

The ugly? Having to “work” on intimacy with the help of all sorts of aides, both for her and me. It kills spontaneity and has made intimacy a thing you need to plan for. Luckily my wife and I can have a good laugh about it.

Dimitri

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If life progresses in its natural order, I will bury my parents. For now, I keep a watchful eye out for signs of Alzheimers or anything else that requires my immediate intervention, knowing that our shared years outnumber our future years together.

I now spend more time thinking about who will look after my special needs child when I am gone. I don’t have the luxury of procrastinating–the will, special needs trust, and letter of intent are priority.

I don’t embrace aging–at least not yet. The best I can do is embrace life and all that it has to offer and have faith that everything will work out as it should.

Karen
Sincerely Yours

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There is no age I would go back to. I LOVE the middle. I am more me now than any other time in my life. I could do without the itchy nipples and the wiry gray eyebrows…but those are small prices to pay to get to this part.

Michelle
Rubber Shoes in Hell

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Midlife hasn’t been kind to me. As a man, I’m expected not to complain; just suck it up. To hell with that. Men aren’t immune to body aches, lack of energy, bulges and shit where they weren’t before and getting depressed. Now there’s hair sprouting on my penis. My wife thinks it’s funny. It’s not.

Old is old, no matter how you slice it. Where’s the magic pill I can pop to reverse time? I don’t want to be 20 again, but right now 58 is shit. It’s all downhill now.

Rod

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I have been planning my 50’s since my 30’s. My mom, a woman I was very close to, became ill in her early 40’s.

Memories from her most painful childhood haunted her and eventually, not able to hide from them any longer, she had a series of mental breakdowns that brought her to hospitals, where she stayed for extended periods of time.

Soon after, she tried to kill herself and was admitted to a nursing facility, for 24 hour care.

She was 55.

I do everything I can to stay mentally fit, filling my life with wonderful things, positive people.

So far, so good.

Theresa
Just 2 Feet and a Camera

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I used to be afraid of being too much like my mother. Now, I embrace that very thought. She tackled midlife like the queen that she was. I never once heard her complain about hot flashes, extra pounds, or anything like that. Her midlife trials and tribulations, if any, were kept hidden from us, her five daughters. She understood that it was what she had to go through to get to the other side of life.

And then there’s me: When that pestering fire erupts from within, I complain. When my pants seem to get smaller and tighter in the waist from one day to the next, I complain. When weeks of working out produces zero results, I complain. When eating two grapes makes me gain three pounds, I complain.

Nobody likes a complainer.

Just like my mother? Yes, please.

Valerie
Bon Vivant

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It’s the 30-60-90 wisdom. Your first 30 years you’re figuring out who you are and your purpose, from 30-60 you try to live that purpose—fulfill a dream or two, and 60-to 90? If you live that long you reap the benefits, reward consequences of your life thus far and it’s all spattered with stuff you had nothing to do with like illness, loss, life’s trials and tribulations, things outside your control. I’m in the 60-90 phase which I also refer to as “Act Three”— some of the players have changed, certainly the conditions and variables have had many meanings and outcomes—and as I brace myself for the rest of my life, I hold on to the love of family and friends and a loyal dog — surrender to my truths as they present — fight against injustice, and above all else, do all things with LOVE and KINDNESS.

Gail
Act Three

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Feelings of angst? Jumping for joy? Terrified of the impending doom of midlife? Midlife-A-Go-Go wants to hear your thoughts on midlife. I’m talking the good, the bad and the ugly. Click below to submit.

To get started, click here → SUBMIT

And dont’ forget to show some love to your fellow midlifers by checking out their websites (via the links under their names).

If you missed Part 1 of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – The Best and Worst of Midlife,” catch it HERE.