The Pre -Mid Life Crisis

I'm going through a pre-mid life crisis. I know I am. Perhaps it's because I bought a minivan and discovered I LIKE it! I really like it. I think it has more to do with the fact my kids can get in and out without jumping over seats and putting sneaker marks on the slower sibling's face. It also has to do with the nice electronic doors that now prevent mommy from having to stand outside during the rain holding the door and bellowing " GET IN THE CAR AND GET BUCKLED!"- I can now do that from the comfort of the front seat. Oh the joy. PLUS my van has seats that fold into the floor flat and turn my MINI van into a CARGO van- not so dorky now is it? Won't be if my friends need help moving anything. Plus just think what I can haul home from garage sales.


Anyway right after buying the van I decided I needed chickens. Baby chickens. So I went off to Tractor Supply and surprised Donald with 6 baby chicks. ( ummm he was surprised not happy though I didn't get "permission" ) The kids were excited and named them all. Poor Tyler named the runt Lucky - unfortunately, Lucky wasn't so lucky- not even for a night and now there are 5. They have been residing on my back porch in crate with a heat lamp for the past 5 weeks. Did you know Chickens smell? To high heaven and back - especially when confined in a small warm spot. When you walked in the back you said "OOOOH someone has Chickens" long before you saw them- you usually didn't see them until after you stopped gagging from the smell. They moved out to their new home/run Saturday and are doing well. They moved due to a few reasons - the smell but also because of Monstra . Monstra's real name is Blondie. Blondie started growing quicker than everyone else in the flock She is my favorite and sits on my lap .She is now however about 5 times bigger than the next sized chick and I have been informed by my snickering husband that Blondie is mots likely not a she but a he - as in Rooster. Roosters crow - very early. Me - mornings - Rooster - hence the snickering husband.
Now about the same time the chickens moved in - the caterpillars did too. The caterpillars were Tyler's science experiment courtesy of Grandmom. So you came up the driveway - got chased by Guinea Hen - walked in the back - got greeted by chickens and smell, came in the house and had to scrape two barking dogs off you, go past two fish tanks that are bigger than most people's tubs and make your way into the dining room where you get to experience metamorphosis while dining.All the while - our love bird is serenading you from the bar room. Welcome to the Shearer Jungle. Back to my PMLC (pre-midlife crisis) -For weeks now I have been struggling to figure out who I am. As I was working Real Estate these past few months, I realized that somewhere in the fight for the kids and the adoption nightmares plus the house buying fun, I lost a part of me. Somewhere the fire started to dwindle in me. I was becoming majorly BLAH I also realized now that everything is settled with the kids and the house ( Settled not done - laundry room still pending ) I could start working on me again . I also realized that in a little over a year and a half I'll be 40. So now the goal for 40-be the best I can be. 40 is coming no matter how I look at it - but who I am when I hit it can be changed and so it begins. Goal 1- I am letting my hair grow - I liked it long and no matter what my mother says 40 is NOT too old to have longer hair. I had highlights added and I'm on my way to getting that look under control. Goal 2- get in shape I want to weigh less and be in better shape at 40-so today I started Kickboxing class at my sons' Karate school. Contrary to popular belief I did not do it to mortally embarrass my son - I decided that I have to see these people and I would be too embarrassed if I quit so I have to stick with it. As for the actual class - prior to the class everyone told me how much fun kickboxing can be - after the class I realized that in certain countries root canal is probably considered fun too. One thing is true it does relieve the pressures of the outside world. This is because the only thing you can think of is surviving the damned class. Anyway I'm beat up and sore right now but I'm heading back Thursday AM - why? 1.5 years left til 40!- Goal 3- find out what I want to be when I grow up- this is proving to be the roughest goal yet. Realtor full time isn't working - I can't imagine that working in a corporate office all day would make me happy either. I need a combination of work , inside, outside and some traveling. So after being hounded by 3 of my dearest friends, it seems I am working on opening my own business- I do marketing , business development, customer service training , trade show planning etc so why not do it as a consultant. The plans are in place and we're moving ahead-slowly -(mostly because after that kickboxing class that's the only speed I'm going to be able to go on for a bit.) - I'm attending a seminar next week on starting a business and then we're off and running. The rest of my PMLC has do with me becoming the person I am and not just this shell of a person that has been existing lately. I need to stand up for myself and take charge of my life. No one else is responsible for who I am when I reach 40 and I want to be the best version of me I can be. ( This is almost like the next version of Microsoft after the disappointing Vista version ) Stay tuned as Microsoft and I both try to shine in the next 18 months or so !