Change…

Welcome to My “What in the World Am I Doing?” Era.

So let’s talk about the unspoken truth.

I’m entering a season of life I have never experienced before. I’m not exactly young, but I’m certainly not ready to be called old. I’m somewhere in the middle—floating around in this interesting little space called middle age, wondering who changed the rules without telling me.

Because let me tell you something…

What worked before doesn’t always work now.

You start going to the gym. You drink more water. You eat your vegetables. You politely decline the second helping of dessert. You do everything right—and then you step on the scale.

The scale looks back at you like:

“And?”

Excuse me?! 😂

And don’t even get me started on clothes.

Somehow, my body has decided that the clothes I used to love are no longer part of the program. Meanwhile, fashion seems to be caught between Gen Z telling us to wear something completely different and Millennials bringing back things we thought we had already buried.

And then there’s us…

Gen X.

We survived dial-up internet, cassette tapes, Saturday morning cartoons, and being told to “go outside and play.”

And somehow…

We still don’t have life completely figured out.

Rude.

Then there’s the Sandwich Generation.

Some of us are raising children while helping care for aging parents. We’re making appointments, solving problems, sending money, checking in, showing up, and somehow remembering everyone’s birthday except our own.

Others of us are single, divorced, or widowed. We watch people around us living their lives out loud while we’re navigating this strange space of being alone.

And let’s be clear:

Alone does not automatically mean lonely.

Sometimes alone simply means you have finally gotten comfortable enough with yourself to enjoy your own company.

Still… it can be an adjustment.

Because nothing seems to fit quite right anymore.

Welcome to the Goldilocks Era.

Not too young.
Not too old.
Just… different.

And somewhere along the way, you may find yourself staring out the window at the younger generation with their loud music, fast cars, and questionable fashion choices thinking:

“Was I ever that young?”

Then comes the moment.

That little lightbulb moment.

“Wait a minute. Maybe nothing is wrong with me. Maybe I’m simply in a different season.”

And that realization changes everything.

A Different Season Doesn’t Mean a Bad Season

That’s one of the reasons I created Renaissance temple.

I wanted a place for people navigating this next phase of life without all the doom and gloom that sometimes comes with conversations about aging.

Because guess what?

This season can actually be GOOD.

Maybe the kids have grown up, and you suddenly have time to travel.

Maybe you finally have the freedom to pick up that hobby you abandoned 20 years ago.

Maybe you want to learn how to paint, dance, garden, cook, write, hike, travel internationally, or do absolutely nothing on a Saturday afternoon—and nobody needs anything from you.

Hallelujah.

We have something now that we didn’t have when we were younger:

Wisdom.

We’ve lived some life.

We’ve made mistakes. We’ve survived heartbreak. We’ve changed careers. We’ve raised families. We’ve lost people. We’ve started over. We’ve made questionable decisions and hopefully learned from at least some of them.

We know things now.

And many of us are at the point in our careers where we have more experience, more confidence, and possibly more earning power than we did in our younger years.

We are blessed with the chance to pour some of that hard-earned wisdom into the generation coming behind us.

That’s not a bad deal.

That’s a new lease on life.

Enter: The Practical Optimist

I’ve always considered myself an optimist.

But these days?

I’ve upgraded.

I now identify as a Practical Optimist™.

Because I’m optimistic about the future, but I’m also realistic about where I am right now.

I’m not pretending everything is perfect.

I’m not pretending transitions are easy.

And I’m definitely not pretending I wake up every morning looking like I have my entire life together.

Some days, I’m thriving.

Some days, I’m Googling things I feel like I should already know.

And some days, I’m just grateful that I made it through Tuesday.

But I still believe there is purpose ahead.

As a believer in Christ, I hold tightly to Jeremiah 29:11:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

A future.

That part matters.

Because sometimes we get so focused on what we’ve lost, what has changed, or what we think we should have accomplished by now that we forget something very important:

There is still future ahead of us.

So… What’s Next?

Transitioning into a new phase of life isn’t always easy.

We tend to hold onto old routines, old expectations, old identities, and sometimes even old versions of ourselves.

But eventually, we have to ask:

“What if I’m not supposed to go backward?”

Maybe we’re supposed to evolve.

Maybe the goal isn’t to get back to who we were.

Maybe the goal is to discover who we’re becoming.

And THAT is what Renaissance temple is about.

This is a space to encourage, motivate, laugh, learn, explore, and—hopefully—build a community of people figuring out this next chapter together.

We’ll talk about travel.

Hobbies.

Faith.

Self-discovery.

Life transitions.

Trying new things.

Making mistakes.

Finding joy.

And all the random little things that make this season of life interesting.

Because we have accumulated an abundance of life experiences, and those experiences are valuable.

Someone out there may need the lesson you learned the hard way.

Someone may need your encouragement.

Someone may need to know they aren’t the only one wondering, “Okay… so what happens now?”

And while change is inevitable, we don’t have to navigate it alone.

And Now… About That Sandwich

My particular focus?

The Sandwich Generation.

So…

COLD CUTS, RISE UP! 🥪😂

If you’re caring for children, aging parents, yourself, or some combination of the three—pull up a chair.

If you’re single, divorced, widowed, empty-nesting, starting over, or simply staring at your life wondering what the next chapter looks like…

You’re welcome here.

Because this isn’t about having all the answers.

It’s about asking better questions.

Trying new things.

Finding our people.

And discovering that maybe this “middle” isn’t a holding pattern after all.

Maybe it’s the beginning of our renaissance.

So take a look around. Explore the site. Share your thoughts. Bring your experiences, recommendations, travel stories, hobbies, wisdom, and yes—even your constructive criticism.

This is a community.

Your voice belongs here.

And now, after all this talk about sandwiches…

I’m hungry.

I think I’m going to go make one.

Priorities. 🥪✨