I am, by my own admission, a slightly obsessive compulsive, anally retentive, control freak. “Oh … how fun,” I hear you say. I love dotting ‘i’s’ and crossing ‘t’s,’ and I have an unhealthy obsession with spread sheeting. I am not that cool, spontaneous … “let’s just wing it” chick. I never have been. I love to feel organised. I love a list, and the absence of a plan makes me feel decidedly unsettled, which probably explains the rising tide of angst that began to gnaw at my nethers, when on the eve of my fiftieth birthday, I realised that I had neglected to make a plan for the second half of my life.
Tradition might suggest that I should be winding down not up, but I know that I still have oodles to offer and I am not ready to surrender to the vagaries or monotony of what middle or ‘old’ age had traditionally been coupled with. The out-dated image of midlife and beyond that society is reflecting back at me is totally at odds with how I feel. With as many adult years ahead of me as I do behind me, I feel inspired to reimagine a second act filled with purpose and passion and curiosity and growth.
And so that’s what I’m doing. Using writing as my tool, I am digging down through all the layers of life in search of that ‘moreness’ I am missing… using stories from my past as compass points to help me navigate towards my future and words as a flashlight to find a path through the fog. The stories I write are uniquely mine, but I think that they echo the zeitgeist of a generation of midlife women who feel plagued by a persistent whisper that says, “there must be more to life than this.”
Ang
About me
I am, by my own admission, a slightly obsessive compulsive, anally retentive, control freak. “Oh … how fun,” I hear you say. I love dotting ‘i’s’ and crossing ‘t’s,’ and I have an unhealthy obsession with spread sheeting. I am not that cool, spontaneous … “let’s just wing it” chick. I never have been. I love to feel organised. I love a list, and the absence of a plan makes me feel decidedly unsettled, which probably explains the rising tide of angst that began to gnaw at my nethers, when on the eve of my fiftieth birthday, I realised that I had neglected to make a plan for the second half of my life. Tradition might suggest that I should be winding down not up, but with any luck, I have as many adult years ahead of me as I do behind me. Years that I feel inspired to fill with purpose and passion and productivity not quiescence. And yet the out-dated image of midlife and beyond that society reflects back at me is totally at odds with how I feel. Youthful idealism has given way to an amorphous feeling of discontent, inflamed by a sage like inner knowing and that persistent whisper that keeps whispering; “there must be more to life than this.” The future, which has always seemed so far away, is marching closer, like an army of marauding minutes and I need to defend myself with a plan. One that does not assign decline, dementia, decrepitude or death as the avatars of aging and one that demands more from midlife than the societal script that I inherited offers up. I needed to find my voice, step into the ‘moreness’ that I am missing and reimagine a new script for a bespoke second half that is tailor made for me. And so that’s what I’m doing. Using writing as my tool, I am digging down through all the layers of life in search of that ‘moreness’ I am missing… using stories from my past as compass points to help me navigate towards my future and words as a flashlight to find a path through the fog.
Ang
Why ‘Ang I am’? I have always been a huge fan of Dr Seuss. His fantastical tales and illustrations of far away places captured my imagination as a child and continue to do so today. His quotes are awesome .. simple and poignant without trying too hard. So … Ang I am pays homage to my fave Dr Seuss character ‘Sam I Am’ … he’s persistent, adventurous and a bit cheeky. You be the judge!
What 4 words would you use to describe yourself? Loyal, determined, stubborn and independent (shit I sound boring!)
What 4 words do you think other people would use to describe you? Aloof, reliable, resilient and a bit quirky
What get’s your goat? Queue jumpers and corner cutters. I’m a stickler for rules.
What qualities do your favourite people have in common? They’re grounded, funny, smart, have integrity and a bit of a twinkle in their eye
What’s your greatest strength? I’m reliable and pretty easy going
What’s you greatest weakness? Forgiveness isn’t my strong suit and I can be a nit picking perfectionist
Where would we find you at a party? At the bar, on the dance floor … or in the queue for the loo
What scares you? Missing bin day and big hairy spiders
How do you switch off? In the bath or watching mindless drivel on tv