Midlife Crisis or Midlife Awakening?

Do women actually have midlife crises?  Or, is it that when we can finally take a breather from years of raising a family, managing a household, or building a career, we wake up to the fact that our lives are not quite what we expected them to be? Or maybe we are happy and satisfied, but just too tired to enjoy everything that we have worked so hard for?

When we reach our 40s and 50s, we often begin to experience loss close-up -- family, friends, classmates.  It makes us think about our own mortality and we often begin to take stock of our lives.  If we died today, what would our epitaph be, what would people remember most about us?  Many times we begin to look back over our lives, remembering the dreams we left behind, remembering the things we may have given up to have families or careers.  Sometimes we are left wondering if our life has any meaning.

Does anyone remember the Oprah episodes that sparked the discussions about women who had "lost themselves?"  These women, some of us among them, had that "aha" moment when they realized that they had lost touch with themselves, their hopes, and their dreams.  They had allowed themselves to be overtaken and overwhelmed by all that is entailed in just making it through each day.

Some studies indicate that midlife crises occur anywhere between the ages of 38 and 55.  But, is it really a crisis or the transition that begins the second half of our lives, perhaps the best half of our lives?  Not to say that building careers and raising a family are not important or fulfilling; they absolutely are.  Maybe the first half is just the dress rehearsal or the first act.

Maybe all of the lessons we have learned are preparing us for an astounding second act, the one that will bring us a standing ovation at the end!  We will have learned all of our lines, smoothed out the rough edges, and gotten rid of any stage fright we may have had.  Perhaps in the second act we are really beginning to relax, enjoy our own show, and take the stage as our own.

Embrace the second act of your life with enthusiasm and wonder.  Explore new ideas, new relationships, and unfulfilled dreams.  Transform yourself into the woman you know you were meant to be, because it is never too late!