Middle Age. Middle Ground. Halfway Point. Up the hill; down the hill; over the hill.

11 days until I turn 44. Seems like a round and balanced age to be turning. Two 4’s. Even numbered. Not too young; not too old. Wise, but not yet wizened. No longer green, but not overripe.

I had a 10-year teaching career before I became a stay-at-home mom. Before that I had a couple of other brief lives – a few years as an underpaid children’s museum educator and a few years traveling the midwest as a newbie engineer on per diem.

I’ve been deep in the mom-game for almost 7 years now – taking care of everyone’s needs, losing myself to nurture others… But they are getting bigger, more independent. I wander around the house a lot (laundry folded, pictures colored, apples sliced) wondering what to do with myself.

So what’s next? Who am I? What do I do with myself NOW?

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