Diary of a Middle-aged Woman

If Life Would Just Give Me a Minute

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a good day and there was cake. Any day that has cake is a good day. It's just the turning older that gets me. Also, lately I've been feeling like I might have wasted a good portion of my life being distracted by "life".

You know what I mean. The crap that fills our days. The nonsensical, idiotic minutia that occupies our minds on a daily basis. The "'what do I need from the store", or the "what will I make for dinner?", or even the "what do I have to clean?", and "I have to do a load of laundry when I get home from work". This is the stuff I'm talking about. If you have an elderly parent you're taking care of, well forget it! That's a whole other set of problems.

I believe Peter Drucker said, "Our careers are what we do while we're waiting for our careers to start." I think that can apply to life. Our lives are what we do while we're waiting for our lives to start. If you're like me, you probably thought there will be enough time to (insert your dream) later - after another load of laundry; after I run here to do this or that. And now, I'm thinking, "Wow! I'm 51 and I wasted A LOT of time!"

I ran into a friend of mine whom I knew since Kindergarten. She has a doctorate in education and is a superintendent of a school district. She wasn't any smarter than me and yet I feel like she has accomplished so much. Meanwhile I sit and worry about what's for dinner? Yes, I have a few regrets about the way I "frittered" away my youth.

Now I'm thinking I don't have enough time - time is running out. I have to apply myself to accomplish my dreams. But yet, there is an errand I have to run first. Oh and then I have to run the vacuum cleaner and take the dog to the vet.