The middle

When I started this blog, I was going to explain the title. Really, I was. But somehow, I got into other topics. So, I decided it was time to explain what "Views from midlife" means.

Basically, the middle sucks. This realization seems to have become something of a trend with bands (Middle Class Rut, Middle Brothers) and TV shows (The Middle). Really, when you're in the middle, you're nowhere. You can be in the Middle East, the mid-Atlantic or the mid-West which just means you're in between two really good things. Middle school is the wasteland between being super cute in elementary school and being super cool in high school. The Middle Ages was a time between the Roman Empire and the Early Modern Era, a "deviation from the path of classical learning" (Wikipedia). The only time being in the middle is a good thing is if you're an Oreo cookie.

First, there is the obvious. I am what my children call "middle-aged", those strange twilight years between cougar and senior citizen. If I am middle-aged, then there are going to be major advancements in medical science because there are no centagenarians in my family tree. The problem with being middle-aged is that you can't do the things you did when you were young because you look ridiculous (yeah, you, with the grey ponytail, the sixties are over!). And you're too young to get senior discounts and a seat on the bus.

I am also a middle child, the one that came between the mature and the spoiled. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. You could get away with a lot more bad stuff because nobody paid much attention to you. They were too busy with the prodigies. Of course, you also got all the hand-me-downs, participated in the same activities as your sibling (family discount), and always shared a room with someone. If you wanted to be noticed, you had to be really outrageous. Or you could just fade into the background. I've known both kinds and I've also noticed that some middle children can swing from one side to the other, sort of a bi-polar thing. Believe me, there are psychiatrists who make money from this "syndrome".

Finally, I am middle class. This doesn't sound like a bad thing but it is the result of other middles, like middle management, which is a scary place to be in this economy. Since you're "middle", you are therefore expendable, not senior and not cheap. Middle class sucks because you need two incomes to make it work. You want to be high class but you don't have the money. Low class sounds awful but nobody expects you to live up to their standards. And it costs less. (All I can picture is the people of Walmart, you know the email I mean).

There are a lot of interesting phrases that make the middle sound exciting. Stuck in the middle -- now doesn't that sound great! The middle of a divorce (I don't know what the middle of a marriage is, probably stuck in a marriage is close). Middle of the road (sounds scary but the music is anything but). The middle of nowhere -- a popular way of saying you're somewhere you don't want to be. Your middle name, something you'll probably never use and often wish you didn't have. Play both ends against the middle -- poor middle, always the loser

So, there you have it. My mid-life started the day my younger sister was born. And it's been going strong ever since. Not that I mind it in the middle. Sometimes it's the safest place to be. And it's definitely the most eloquent finger.