Midlife is a Ride. I’m Taking the Scenic Route.
by Rachel Naud
“Do you want to do a mud run with me?”
My best friend casually asked me this over cocktails as if we were familiar with running. Or mud. Or running in mud. The only time we’ve ever run for anything was when the doors opened at the mall on Boxing Day.
“Girl… are you off your HRT? What do you mean, do I want to run with you? IN MUD?”
“We’re turning 50 this year, Rachel,” she said, squeezing a lime into her drink. “I’m ready to try new things. This year is about saying yes!”
“Well, I’m happy for you!” I said, like the supportive best friend I am. “But absolutely not. Cheers!” I said clinking our second round of vodka sodas.
I do understand the urge to try new things, though. Especially now that it’s fall.
I feel like fall has become the new version of a New Year. It’s when we suddenly feel motivated, invigorated and convinced the rest of the year is going to be the best of the year. Like somehow the last eight or nine months were just a warm-up and now we’re finally getting down to business.
And it makes sense that midlife becomes a bit of a catapult for trying new things. After all, it’s tick-tock o’clock for a lot of us who want to squeeze in a few adventures like mud runs before our hips start to go.
This fall, I’m embarking on some new adventures of my own — even if I’m not trading cocktails for dirt.
Midlife Mix will host its first-ever Midlife Mixer, an event designed to inspire women to walk into the next stage of their lives with confidence. And while I absolutely believe in trying new things and saying yes to new opportunities, lately I’ve also been thinking about how important it is to do that while honouring the younger versions of myself, because she’s the one who got me here.
And I love that girl.
She took risks. She cared deeply. She made mistakes. She failed too many times to count. But she brushed herself off and got back up each and every time.
Maybe reinvention isn’t always about becoming someone new. Maybe sometimes it’s about taking all those versions of ourselves along for the ride.
I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately as I watch my mom navigate her own new chapter.
This spring, my stepfather died. And now, as fall approaches, I’m watching my mom slowly venture into a life that looks very different from the one she expected.
She drives around in her new car with her dog, Ricky – her ride or die. She’s exploring new paths and figuring out what comes next, all while listening to playlists that still belong to my stepfather.
I love that the soundtrack to her past is pushing her into her future. She still loves the songs; they just sound a little different now. Maybe that’s what midlife is.
I’m so tired of the cliché of the “midlife crisis.” It’s not a crisis. It’s a crossroads. It’s that moment when we look at the life we’ve built, everything we’ve survived, everyone we’ve loved and all the versions of ourselves we’ve already been – and decide where we want to go from here.
Because we want the rest of our lives to be the best of our lives.
For some of us, that might look like going back to school. Starting a new career. Getting divorced. Dating again. Getting married. Moving. Launching something we’ve always dreamed about. Signing up for a mud run for reasons I will never understand.
And sometimes it might simply mean cruising down the highway with your dog in the backseat – your favourite old songs playing a little too loudly. The road ahead might take us somewhere completely new or it might take us down a familiar route we haven’t travelled in years.
Either way, we’re in the driver’s seat. And maybe that’s the best part of midlife – we finally get to decide where we’re going.
I still don’t have all the answers, but I know one thing for sure: there’s one place my road will never lead me.
To a mud run.
Younger Rachel would never.
Midlife Mix is a podcast about being in those middle years of life.
Midlife is a mindset. You’ve got a career but maybe you want a change. You’re still a parent but not changing diapers. You crave connection with the friends who really understand you.
You’ve got questions about how you look, how you feel and how you want to spend the rest of your life. This is your podcast.
Rachel Naud is the host of Midlife Mix. You can follow Midlife Mix on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, or listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere podcasts are available. @midlifemix
