The lovely Janet, from Middle-Aged Mama recently included me in a listing of middle-aged bloggers she’d met.

Another blogging friend made a comment on the use of the term ‘middle aged’. A brief discussion ensued: Did we think of the term negatively or was it merely descriptive?

I must confess it depressed me a little.

There’s no denying I’m middle-aged. Gah! Fuck it’s horrible to say that. But I’m 48yrs old. I don’t know how that happened, but it did. Indeed… before this calendar year ends I’ll turn 49.

If I’m really honest my horror at being ‘middle-aged’ is really only centred around one or two things I’d hoped to have achieved or experienced by this age. And it occurred to me I was letting THOSE things affect my perception of my life.

However… these Thursday posts are about ‘lovin life’ so I’ll depress you all with my victim-like ponderings another time. Today I’m trying to do the Pollyanna thing and look on the bright side.

And fortunately (around that same time) a blog post by another friend about some positives of ageing growing-up helped thwart my malaise around the whole ‘middle-aged’ thing.

In her post, How I knew I’d grown up, Jo Tracey talked about having changed from the twenty-something who lived on beer and sausages to the person she is today. In a good way. And I could very much relate. It reminded me that being 48 isn’t all bad.

Indeed, there have been A LOT of life lessons in those 48yrs, and I realised there’s a wealth of experience that ONLY comes with age – which I touched on in last Thursday’s post.

And although I’m not necessarily past the habits of my 20s: living from pay to pay; drinking more than I should at times; eating chocolate for breakfast or dinner; and not moisturising. I’ve certainly come a long loooong way over the past 20+years.

I think back to my first apartment with its foam sofa, papsan chairs (which I would LOVE now btw) and mattress on the ground. And now… I have a beautiful house (the fourth place I’ve owned) and am wondering if my chandelier is too naff?

Twenty years ago I was easily intimated by those with more money, better jobs or more attractive. Now I’m pretty hard to impress and don’t waste time with people whose company I don’t enjoy.

Even just ten years ago I thought my worth was dependent on my achievements or how I was perceived by others. That one is still a work in progress but I’m living more intuitively and focusing more on what makes me happy and makes me a better person, than on my job title or profession.

I’ve been walking this earth for 48 years… (and crawling for another 11 months before that!) and, though I may not have lived / be living the life I expected, I’ve had a myriad of experiences and learned a lot. About myself and others.

And of course, the thing about being middle-aged is that the implication is that you’re only halfway there.

How do you feel about being middle-aged? Is it something you’re dreading, or are you already there and revelling in it? What’s changed the most since you were in your 20s?

I’ve joined Leanne and some other bloggers to help promote “ageing positively” and the Lovin’ Life mindset across the interwebs. You can link up via any one of us!