Kara S. Anderson

Connection, Not Perfection

So, this is Midlfe, huh?

For a while now, I've been on a bit of a sabbatical. A hiatus, you might call it.

I've been working to figure things out.

A lot changed at once here, and it was a little bit bumpy for a minute.

The kids grew up. I had more time.

I wanted to write again, but, also, you know - a girl's got to pay the bills.

So one day I decided to JUST WRITE, and people have been so incredibly kind and supportive.

I feel like Tinkerbell. 

My writing dreams are coming true.

Thank you. 

Figuring Out Stuff in Your 40s

The road back to writing was a little bumpy, though.

There were a few detours, like becoming a certified substitute teacher but never actually teaching, and accepting a full-time job at a university and then freaking out about my lack of work pants and shoes because I'd been Zooming for so long.

And so, like a middle-age caterpillar, 
I climbed into my cocoon, i.e., under a weighted blanket with 1-2 cats, and then I emerged a wobbly little butterfly, but mostly just flew in circles around my porch.

This Is The Cool Part

And then, one random Friday, I went into my Batcave (what I call my office) and I began again. 

Did you know there are adult do-overs?

That we can ALWAYS start again?

Kinda great, right?

The Messy Middle Bit

I can see now that for way too long, I was holding myself back because 

I didn't want to share the messy middle bit.

It was unpolished and kind of hard, to be honest.

I kept saying it was too raw.

It was cruidté, and I wanted to give you a nourishing vegetable soup.

But here's the thing - 
we need to talk about the messy middle bit.

There is So MUCH Beauty in the Mess +
Beauty in the Middle

I didn't see this right away.

I mean, I was hiding under a blanket.

But now I know.

Transitions in Midlife

Now I know that many, many of us in our 40s and 50s face big life transitions.

Maybe, we have kids who grow up.

Maybe, we change jobs or whole careers.

Maybe we get divorced or we get married. (Maybe both.)

Maybe we start caring for an aging parent.

Maybe, we just sweat a lot and finally start telling people what we think.

Let's Get Into It