A couple of weekends ago, I was invited out for an evening of live music watching a local band that I love. It meant a 40-minute drive and a bit of dubious parking once I returned home (once our parking spaces have gone you have to park elsewhere in the town) and although I really wanted to go, I could feel the anxiety levels rising.
Mix the above with a menopausal woman who struggles to stay awake later than 10pm and I found myself making excuses to myself as why I shouldn’t go.
I decided I needed to push myself.
I got my dancing shoes on, a bit of red lippy, picked out some uplifting ‘dancey car tunes’ and set off.
As I drove to the venue, windows down, music on, I remembered how I’d never have thought twice about doing such a thing pre-menopause. Before I knew it, I was singing along and really looking forward to my night out!
Once I got there, I was surrounded by old friends. Friends who have known me for 25 years, friends who have witnessed the good and the bad times. Friends whom I had a past with – who talked about when I worked on one of Europe’s biggest Blues festivals. A time when I survived on coffee, wine and fags pretty much (not that I’m advocating that) and working with music legends!
I remembered my rock n’roll life – part of who I am. A part that I needed reminding about.
We danced, we laughed, we chatted about old times – my friends, my music tribe, and I remembered.
I remembered how important this was/is to me. I reconnected with myself and reminded myself not to forget the many different parts of my life that make me me.
Who do you need to reconnect to?
What part of your life feels unbalanced right now or even missing? What can you do about that because take it from someone who knows, reconnecting can fill a very empty cup!
I drove home happy and even the lack of parking spaces (middle aged problems) and feeling like I might need to sleep for a week, didn’t spoil my enjoyment. I will be doing it again.
