Ostomy Memories of Midlife Crisis

I’VE BEEN HAVING A MIDLIFE CRISIS ever since I was fourteen.  I was too young, and too poor, to go out and get myself a red sports car.  Plus, I didn’t have a driver’s license, which was not an insignificant problem.  But I learned how to bide my time.  After struggling through my teen years, staying in school as long as I could in my twenties, doing my best imitation of a spinning top through my thirties, I finally made it into my forties and could officially acknowledge the presence of a recognizable midlife crisis.  So I went out and bought a candy apple red Fiat Spyder, four on the floor, tan leather upholstery, a convertible hot car.  I went tooling about town, only dimly aware of traffic laws, down shifting with pretended expertise as I approached red lights, top down, the wind in what little hair I had left at the time.  I had managed to reach the gawd-awful point in life when I could commence to wonder if I had adequately prepared for whatever was ahead, and whether or not I had sufficiently taken advantage of my now bygone youth.  But… BUT… then I remembered what FIAT stands for:  Fix It Again Tony.  I got nervous.  I looked across the living room and saw my two young daughters.  So I took that hot little car in and traded it for a big ol’ vacation van and sat down with my kids to look at photos of the Smokies.  “When can we go, Papa?”  “As soon as school’s out, girlies, as soon as school’s out.”

It was the best decision you would have made in your life. The memories you all made can never be forgotten or replaced by the selfless thought of putting your family first. Cars only give you the buzz in the first few weeks after that it's just another piece of metal same as whole the other cars. XX 

That is an amazing story of putting others in front of self. While I’m childless myself, I’ve watched my sisters and their husbands do everything possible for my nieces and nephews and it has helped me with my own selfishness. I’ve been having that midlife crisis you speak of for years, my vice has been shoes. In the last couple of decades however I’ll skip that pair or 7 of shoes take them to baseball games with my nieces and nephews to the point that they now refuse to let me take them to games and they take me.

There is nothing better to me than to see the joy on their faces as we entered Fenway, Hadlock field in Portland, McCoy stadium in Pawtucket, Delta Dental stadium in Manchester, New Hampshire and the latest Polar Park in Worcester for the first time and every time since.

Now they have turned into fine young adults and for gift giving holidays what is my gift from them? 
You guessed it..  Shoes

I can’t even slip them the secret $100 anymore, they won’t take it.

Love this ! 

My writing style needs help, having re-read my post I’m glad you were able to discern what I was trying to say.

Perhaps I should attempt to wake up before posting! 🤷🏻‍♂️

Hello HenryM.

I don't think I could ever afford the sort of purchasing behaviour that you describe as a symptom of a mid-life crisis. Anyway, in my life there seem to have always been too many other things to think about, to reflect upon whether I was entering a mid-life crisis, and now I suspect it's probably far too late, as it would need to be labelled as a 'late-life crisis'.

Best wishes

Bill

Now, there is a Daddy with his priorities straight!!

Terry

They're both in their forties now and I still worry about them.  Typical, I guess...