The First One!

Good Morning All!  I say "All" with a bit of humor, since no one knows I'm here!  The title of my blog should have been a question instead of a statement.  The next 20 years, what's to come?  I find that it is an exciting phrase as well as a bit on the depressing, scary side.  Here I am, a 57 year old female, the kids are grown and raising their own families, living their own dreams and now it's my time.  And what is it I want to do with it?  That's the big question, isn't it?  During all those years of growing up we couldn't wait to get to 16 to drive, 18 to have our personal freedom, 21 to buy alcohol and have the designation of "grown up"!  Then we thought we "should" start looking for the "love of our life" or at the very least a good candidate for the father of the children we should have.  So, we get married, have our children, wipe noses, laugh at antics, mow yard, work and work and work.  Then all of a sudden we find ourselves "emptynesters", possibly divorced or widowed and still doing the same thing as always....working.  The difference is that the drive to do that same thing isn't there anymore. There are no mouths to feed except yours and the animals.  No clothes to buy, books for school and the endless pairs of tennis shoes.   Now we enter "middle age".  I have to say as a younger person I thought people went a bit crazy and what was up with the whole "midlife crisis" thing? I think that I have figured it out!  For me, once the kids left and I was living on my own, I realized that I was bored.  I have been doing the same basic job for almost 40 yrs.  I had a short switch for 7 of those years when I owned and operated an espresso bar, which was fabulous but alas not very lucrative, but other than that the SAME JOB.  Now at middle age (or actually a bit over, but whose counting?) I realize that at best I have maybe a good 20 years.  What to do with it?  Midlife Crisis, the realization that we have been doing what we do for so long that it's time to do something different for the last 20 years coming up! 

So, my friends, this blog is to hopefully take this one female on a bit of a journey to finding those answers.  I plan on gathering data, analysing, projecting ideas and working my thoughts through all of it to find out just what I want to do with these next 20 years. Instead of  just stumbling dumbly through them.  I know one thing for sure and it is my guiding light........life is supposed to be fun.....and that is where my search needs to take me.

So, to end the first blog..........I thank anyone who has read this and please join me on this journey I hope to take to FUN and enrichment!