Welcome to the fourth midlife must-haves post in my new(ish) series here on the blog. If you don’t know what this series is about, you can read my first midlife must-haves post over here. It explains things in more detail and you can see also what I can’t live without at the moment.
Today Kim will be sharing five of her must-haves with us. Welcome, Kim!
Hi, my name is Kim and I am 52 years old which feels like a massive number to type. But it’s an irrefutable fact – 52 and I will be together for the whole of 2022. I have 2 sons, aged 20 and 17yrs old. I am a Pilates Instructor and am passionate about movement, and how it can positively impact our well-being. My happy place is the beach (I surf) and I love being outdoors.
Observing the world on my bicycle and on my feet also makes me happy. Because what you can observe in the world around you is completely changed by these two modes of transport. I love pieces of homeware and fashion, especially if they have a story to tell. That said, I try not to be too much of a consumer or a collector of things, as I feel at my best when everything is simple.
These are my midlife must-haves, in no particular order
Midlife must-have #1
A magnifying mirror – I love my magnifying mirror, it gives me the confidence that I have seen everything on my face. Simply put – it’s a safety net. When your eyesight starts deteriorating, simple things like doing your makeup can become quite treacherous and whilst I am not promoting perfection, I am promoting peace of mind. These mirrors are widely available and I don’t travel without mine.
Midlife must-have #2
Movement practice. I have been teaching Pilates for 16 years and in every phase of my life – from childbirth to perimenopause – this movement practice has supported me. Now more than ever I am reliant on movement practice for feeling emotionally calm and centred. I think many perimenopausal women will be able to relate to feeling unhinged and weepy. I am a stickler for doing my movement practice before I do anything else in the day, this way I am most likely to do it, I also find that it sets the tone for the day and helps me feel more emotionally balanced.
Midlife must-have #3
The Beautiful poem by Fleur Adcock – Weathering. Fleur Adcock is a New Zealander who took a year off work and went to live in the UK. I am in love with this poem she wrote on midlife, whilst she was in the UK on this sabbatical, and I find myself coming back to read it often:
Weathering
Literally thin-skinned, I suppose, my face
catches the wind off the snow-line and flushes
with a flush that will never wholly settle. Well:
that was a metropolitan vanity,
wanting to look young forever, to pass.
I was never a pre-Raphaelite beauty,
nor anything but pretty enough to satisfy
men who need to be seen with passable women.
But now that I am in love with a place
which doesn’t care how I look, or if I’m happy,
happy is how I look, and that’s all.
My hair will turn grey in any case,
my nails chip and flake, my waist thicken,
and the years work all their usual changes.
If my face is to be weather-beaten as well
that’s little enough lost, a fair bargain
for a year among lakes and fells, when simply
to look out of my window at the high pass
makes me indifferent to mirrors and to what
my soul may wear over its new complexion.
Midlife must-have #4
Community. A community of women of all ages. Being part of a community, in general, is widely recognized in scientific literature as being wellbeing boosting. I think that during midlife being part of a community of women is critical. My peers – to not feel alone in my emotional and physical transition through menopause; younger women – to stay connected to what is relevant to younger women, and to stay connected to my youthful self; and older women – to relate more closely than I may have done in the past, to what they may be going through, to help me to develop deeper compassion and empathy for where I am headed.
Midlife must-have #5
Retinol, Vitamin C serum and Sunscreen. Consistent good skincare with active ingredients that work, and whatever the weather, sunscreen. My mantra on skincare is pretty similar to movement practice, which is if I miss a day, no worries, but I don’t miss two in a row, small habits make a big difference.
Thank you so much for sharing your midlife must-haves with us, Kim!
It’s always so lovely to hear about other women’s midlife experiences and what they do to make their lives easier and happier.
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