These days a certain part of a certain nursery rhyme keeps ringing in my ears. It goes something like this”…..over the hill and far a -waaaaay” The following line goes something like ‘ mother duck called out quack quack quack and two little ducks came back back back’. But only that part, the ‘over the hill and far away’ keeps looping itself!
I’ve crossed the big thirty and everybody who knows me knows that fact, because they’ve seen me buy anti wrinkle cream along with an oversized bag of potato crisps and gallon of ice cream. Lots of people also know that I’m a bit beyond the big thirty and five years after that because they’ve seen me jog miles every morning to lose some 10 grams of fat and then losing even less so that the weighing machine doesn’t even recognize the loss.
Not wanting to deprive myself of the one luxury you are allowed at that age, I’ve decided to have a mid-life crisis. Speaking of which, does anyone else notice how open top convertibles and sports cars almost always come with a paunchy, balding man?
Having done this thing a little half heartedly at puberty (my best friend was ashamed of me because I respected the elders even when I did not need money!), this time around I’m going to do it right.
Music: I start my day doing a solo swan lake performance around the child who doesn’t feel the need to brush his hair or have his breakfast or get to school on time and the husband who doesn’t look at the time when he is reading the newspaper, when he is in the shower, when he is knotting his tie or when he’s not yelling at the kid who doesn’t get to school on time. Now try reading that while making breakfast, packing lunch boxes and running between two occupied toilets, screaming ‘hurry up’ all the time!
Self enrichment, self discovery: Insisting its party time because it is the weekend. Come home at 10:30 pm, spend the rest of the weekend vomiting, nursing a headache and avoiding calls from unknown numbers. Discovering, you don’t need alcohol anymore to feel this way, peri peri sauce on french fries does it just as well.
Me time: That’s when I take a book and go off to the beach or a quiet coffee shop. However, in between the lines, I read grocery lists and bank statements and to do lists that havent been done.
Caring for the body: Regular walks when the car breaks down, yoga – the headstands when the garage hands you the bill and lots of sleep, especially when you are watching a really interesting movie!
Staying current: Meet an old friend, make new friends and when they ask “Hello, how are you?”
You reply, “Wonderful! How are you?”
What do you think?