Kimba is NOT Wonder Woman. Not even close. I don’t have access to a magical invisible airplane that can transport me into the city in a quick minute (but wouldn’t that be crazy cool being that commuting worships at the temple of suck?!). I can’t whip out that golden lasso of truth to cut through the BS. My truth is that weekends pass when I don’t get any of my s**t done. Assignments and laundry pile up, deadlines loom, in-boxes become cluttered. If I’ve learned anything in my journey to the the middle-aged cheap seats (MACS) it’s that I can dream of being Wonder Woman, the gal who has her proverbial stuff together, but sometimes even WW needs a time-out and a nap.
Sometimes, even Wonder Woman needs a time-out and a nap. Click To Tweet
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So, that’s what the past six weeks or so have been all about: a giant Kimba time-out. Life was getting a bit too jumbled and I was also facing a big decision about F/T work (yep, love you guys and gals but the bills gotta get paid too). I want to offer a loving shout out here to everyone who checked in to find out if all was OK in Kimbaland and if the middle-aged cheap seats (MACS) was shutting down. Thank you for all the words of encouragement and for even noticing my little hiatus. I’m happy to report that MACS made the cut and will continue.
After six weeks of assessment and a little soul-searching, I’ve made some midlife adjustments.
What My Midlife Time-Out Assessment Revealed
I need and even want to work full-time. I’m getting back into the swing of the demands of 40+ hours a week and so far so good. The silver-lining here is that commuting provides a goldmine of writing inspiration (queue up the woman I observed this week doing her hair and make-up on the metro, I certainly admired here steady hand with the mascara!).
I need to make more time for family and friends. Trips to California and Florida this past month to visit friends and family confirmed that time with loved ones trumps everything else.
Time with loved ones trumps everything else. Click To TweetI can’t be all-in, all-Virgo, all the time. This is a lifelong struggle. But multi-tasking on steroids is a young woman’s game. I used to believe that if I didn’t do it all, and do it well, I was admitting defeat. But, up in the MACS, we can look around and see when things are getting over-scheduled, and all-consuming, and adjust accordingly.
This was a baby step, but I had a proud moment yesterday when I forced myself to go shopping without a list – AKA Virgo blasphemy. Yes, I forgot to buy toothpaste, and I spent a little more cash than usual, but it was kind of liberating to think: Hmm… what looks good for dinner tonight?
What I Commit to Doing Differently
I gotta get my health back on track. Thank you menopause fairy for throwing my body into a tailspin… said no one ever. As of today I commit to taking back control of my health. This means changing the way I eat (any gluten-free tips out there, I am all ears!), the way I exercise – wearing the Fitbit right now as I write, with the alarm set to get me out of this chair at least once an hour, and the way I sleep (no more late night Jimmy Fallon, will have to catch you on the DVR my virtual friend). And, I’ll need to find a weekend yoga class – hold me accountable folks!
Thank you menopause fairy for throwing my body into a tailspin... said no one ever. Click To Tweet
Image provided courtesy of gratisography.com. No image restrictions noted.
I gotta start saying “no” more often. No does mean no. And even for the times that I say yes, I can and will make my “yes” conditional. There’s no shame in limiting your commitments. That volunteer board work might now mean more meetings by Skype vs in-person.
I’ll continue to carve out time to write. No way am I’m giving up MACS or Dock Tale Hour. However, I may scale back a bit with the novel development and with other freelance writing work, as time permits. Well, unless the NYT calls, or WashPost, or O Magazine… I’d like to keep to posting MACS on Fridays, but if it falls to the weekend – like today – then so be it.
Here’s to the new and improved midlife Kimba, gainfully employed and newly balanced.
Cheers,
Kimba
Have you ever put yourself in time-out? If so, any life changes as a result? Please share in the comments. Oh, and I was serious about thoughts and suggestions regarding gluten-free eating.
I haven’t, but I should.
My butt is pretty kicked.
I do hereby put you in time-out Susan. Do not come out until you’ve had a nice long hot bath, adult beverage of your choice, and a lovely little nap.
Kimba, taking time out for ourselves is so important for Body, Soul, and MIND! I love your article. It can be so difficult to give ourselves permission to have a day or time to DO NOTHING, or anything we want such as lie in bed and watch cartoons. We are all Wonder Women, but even Wonder Woman needs girlfriend-time. Thanks for being that girlfriend who reminded me.
Yea, virtual gal pals! Let me know the next time we can virtually watch a movie together, I’m partial to rom coms.
Oh yes Kim, I have had enforced time out that made me totally reassess my life and I always make time for me each day. Right now I am thinking of stepping back for the dat to read medical Medium that has me thinking more about me time and my health our health is our wealth xx
Suzie, you are one of the most centered and balanced women in the blogosphere. Our health is our wealth indeed!
This is such a great post! I think that it is so important for us all to take a step back and reflect and just know when we need to slow down and take a break 🙂
Absolutely moving over to the slow lane – it’s a much nicer ride!
Thank you for this! I realize, having read this, I need to take a step back and re-evaluate.
P.S. Glad you are back!
Thx Diane – I’ve missed the connection with all my peeps! Pls let me know how a lil time out for you works out/reveals.
What a relief! All of us Wonder Women can now give ourselves permission to take a break and rethink what’s really important. As the year is almost over, I’m tired. I’ve worked hard, accomplished not everything, and I now don’t have to p[ush to get it done before the end of the year. Thanks and enjoy your new life.
I know Joyce, the tsunami of holiday to-dos is about to hit. Time to take a deep breath and give ourselves a break.
Oh Kimba, I can so relate! This has been a year of change for me, all of it self-induced. I have come to realize that every 10 years I must reinvent my life in some way and this year it seems I out did myself. But it’s been good, and to get back to your point, one of the things I realized is that it was a lot easier to turn my life inside out when I was 20 than when I’m … more mature. 🙂 Anyway, moving from the island to the forest has been good and now the pooch and I take long walks on the hiking trails behind my home and afternoon breaks to just read and have a cup of something warm since I’m still freezing my buns off.
I have to tell you, though, I couldn’t help but laugh when I started reading your post since you are on my list today to contact re a project – seriously! Well, I still want to run it past you, and I’ll understand if it doesn’t work out. 🙂
Hang in there with the weather change – and I hope you’ve stocked up on a few sweaters! Promise to get back to you soon about your fun opportunity.
Thank you for being open and sharing. Being aware of your needs and embracing change can be challenging, to say the least! Kudos to you and I wish you success in your goals.
Thanks Summer. It’s not always easy to say no, but I’m working on it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! We’re on the exact same path, and you’ve validated everything I feel. But Erma in 2017? 🙂
I love being on the same path as you chica! There’s no formal Erma in 2017, but we could did a little impromptu one of our own for #fourseventythree!
Ditto. I think you & me are living similar yet different lives. So glad you have found smart goals & direction, and wishing you much success and peace, w some tequila & yoga on the sly.
Tequila and yoga or bust!! 🙂
A paying job and more personal time… I like the way you think and it’s healthy. Brenda
Getting my health back online is a top priority for sure. And, a steady paycheck ain’t so bad.
So glad to hear MACS is back in business. I have going gluten free for years. It is so much easier to go GF now than it was a couple years ago. There are lots of good options but be careful cause to make up for taste, many GF products have more sugar.
Oh, I hear you about the sugar in the GF products – I really gotta look out for that. But last night the Hubs and I tried a GF pizza and it was surprisingly tasty!
Saying “no” to the time vampires is the most inspiring thing I’ve done lately. It’s helping me take my life back too. Now, every morning I do what is the most important thing for me: I write. Or edit, because, hey, editing is writing. Social Media can wait. I’m much more productive once I come to my first break in writing. I generally come back to it mid afternoon, after I’ve disappeared into social media for a while. Stand strong, Wonder Woman. Together, we will do what we want and need.
Social media can definitely be a time suck. I’m giving myself a little time each morning to check in on social media during my commute into the city – don’t worry, not texting and driving, I’m a mass transit kind of gal – and then leave FB, Twitter, etc., alone until commute home. And you, my friend, are definitely a WW. Hope to catch up in person with you soon.