Midrising Conversations · Episode 15 · Midlife This Week
Brain Fog, Broken Gates & Saying No
What’s actually happening in midlife this week?
Gill and Barbara catch up on the very real stuff: menopause brain, drinking less, disappearing filters, saying no to things you don’t want to do — and why apparently wanting to be home before the streetlights come on is a perfectly reasonable Gen X position.
There’s also a broken gate, an Aldi sofa-cover incident, a Bengal cat with strong opinions and one important family debate: can you really blame everything on menopause?
About this episode
This week, Gill and Barbara compare notes on what’s actually happening in their respective corners of midlife — and neither knows what the other is going to say before they start.
For Barbara, the week begins with an expensive encounter between an automated gate and the smaller gate someone forgot to close. For Gill, it involves an unexpectedly competitive dash for the last sofa covers in Aldi.
From there, the conversation wanders through drinking less, going home earlier, perimenopause symptoms that seem to come and go, children getting older, changing family dynamics and the increasingly useful ability to simply say no.
And then there’s menopause brain: forgotten conversations, instructions that apparently need to be supplied in writing and a family disagreement about exactly how much can reasonably be blamed on menopause.
In this conversation
- What happened in Gill and Barbara’s midlife this week
- A broken gate and a very expensive start to the day
- Gill’s Aldi sofa-cover mission
- Whether we’re actually too old for anything
- Why late nights and drinking have started to lose their appeal
- Perimenopause, sleep and symptoms that seem to come and go
- Menopause brain and conversations you genuinely don’t remember having
- Why sometimes the family just has to adjust
- Children getting older and changing relationships with our kids
- A Bengal cat with very strong opinions about staying indoors
- Gill’s apparently still-active Gen X streetlight curfew
- Getting much better at saying no to things you don’t actually want to do
This episode is for you if…
You’ve ever walked into a room and forgotten why you’re there, been told about a conversation you have absolutely no recollection of, or informed your family that important information now needs to be supplied in writing.
You’ve noticed that a night at home sounds increasingly appealing, your tolerance for things you don’t want to do is rapidly disappearing, or you’ve started wondering when exactly your filters went missing.
Basically, if midlife currently feels equal parts funny, confusing, liberating and slightly ridiculous, you’ll probably feel at home here.
The Midrising takeaway
Maybe one of the better parts of midlife is getting clearer about what you want, what you don’t — and becoming considerably less interested in pretending otherwise.
What’s happening in your midlife this week?
Brain fog? A completely disproportionate irritation? Something you’re finally saying no to? Or one tiny thing that made your week unexpectedly better?
Tell us in the comments. Your midlife confessions are very welcome here.
Feeling restless about what comes next?
You don’t need to have it all figured out.
If you have that restless feeling that something needs to change but you’re not yet sure what, start with the free If You Feel Restless, Start Here guide.
About Midrising Conversations
Midrising Conversations is about what life really looks like in your 40s, 50s and beyond — careers, relationships, families, money, health, getting older, starting again and everything nobody really prepares you for.
Some weeks, Gill Townsend and Barbara Scalzi compare notes on what’s happening in midlife right now in Midlife This Week. Other weeks, they’re joined by guests with stories, experience and expertise worth hearing.
Midlife. No filter.
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