Midlife Musings August 2024
Life Lately, A Poem, Joy of Dance
Happy August and thank you for joining my cozy corner here on Substack. I hope you enjoyed your previous editions of Midlife Musings (March & April & May & June & July) and have had a chance to peruse additional posts waiting for you here, too.
I’m delighted to be back inside your inbox with August’s newsletter. As mentioned in this introduction post, monthly I’ll share midlife inspiration through this newsletter. Wondering who’s midlife? Read more here!
Inside this month’s edition, you’ll find the regular peek into life lately, insights from a farmers’ market poem (here’s an IG reel), a recap of my ballet festival experience (here’s an IG reel), and a video of my solo to La Vie en Rose.
For your listening pleasure, please enjoy this recent podcast episode recapping the year and giving a peek into what’s to come this fall (hint, a lot!) PLUS this 18.5-year archive of 624 episodes playfully coined “Season 1.” Watch for Season 2’s limited edition series focused on midlife coming this fall!
And now, welcome inside our sixth edition of Midlife Musings, love. I’m so happy you’re here!
Clicking the heart at the top or bottom of this email makes it easier for others to find Midlife Musings. 💗 Oh, and it also warms my heart!
Life Lately: A Peek Inside
Please join me in taking a pause to consider your own life lately: highlights, observations, joys, and challenges.
What I’m working on:
Fall TDJ Capsule (join the waitlist here)
Season 2 of the Tranquility du Jour podcast (did you listen to the latest one?)
Book proposal (join the waitlist here)
What I’m loving:
My recent visit to see orangutans and chimps at Center for Great Apes (happy orangutan day—here’s an IG reel in celebration!)
Having hope that last Friday’s third surgery really is a charm for my left hip
Planning for next month’s Paris writing retreat with Cynthia Morris and a dear friend from high school
What I’m consuming:
Watching Emily in Paris and Orangutan Jungle School
Eating crispy tofu, loving succulent peaches and Rainier cherries
Reading Radical Compassion by Tara Brach for the Coterie August book club. Also enjoying I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynnis MacNicol.
What I’m wearing:
Neck scarves to dress up my most basic pieces
Pink cane to support my post-surgery hip
Graphic TDJ tees with fancy skirts
What I’m noticing:
A full heart after my week of ballet (IG reel here)
A blend of excitement and anxiety around refocusing after putting so much time into International Adult Ballet Festival prep
A few leaves starting to turn yellow and orange
A Poem About Midlife
My personalized poem by @gios_typos.
While wandering through Williams Park in St. Pete last Saturday morning, I picked up a couple of green juices from a man who told me the maca ingredient would “help balance my hormones.” I’m in!
Next, we stopped by a dog treat vendor selling vegan banana and blueberry bites—Mookie definitely needed those! Then I spotted a man in a black fedora and sunglasses clicking away at a typewriter with a sign that read, “Poet for hire. Pick a topic, get a poem.”
I waited my turn, and once he paused, I asked for a poem about midlife.
He asked what I liked about it and I replied, “Returning to my childhood passion of ballet.”
He nodded.
“What do you not like about it?” he asked.
I looked down and said, “My broken body.”
Within a few minutes, he read this poem to me, tucked it inside a Kraft paper envelope, and handed it to me.
Tiny aches
and mini pains.
But in my older youth
I find new range.
A place to stretch my body
like never before.
A place to stretch
my hearts desire
finding new strength
in my core.
Making memories
cello in the background shows me the way.
Step by step
to the rhythms of my life’s ballet.
Where balances and challenges
come with new names.
and I in my chrysalis
find ways to beautify the change.
Does this resonate with you? I teared up and gave him a big hug, deeply moved by the feeling of being seen by a stranger.
Our entire weekend following the International Adult Ballet Festival spent in St. Pete felt like a gift. It started with a jaunt to Center for the Great Apes (a HUGE highlight) followed by 48 hours in this special city. Here’s a reel from the experience. We found St. Pete to be super dog-friendly, filled with great art and artisans, packed with good veg food and tasty tea spots, and peppered with pink sunsets and hotels. This poem now holds a special place in my heart.
The Joy of Dance
A journal through the adult ballet festival and an IG reel of highlights.
There’s a unique joy rediscovering dance in midlife. The pressures of youth give way to a deeper appreciation for movement and allow us to connect with our body in a way that’s both liberating and fulfilling. As we age, dance becomes more about the pure pleasure of moving freely, expressing emotions, and embracing the rhythms that resonate within us (as highlighted in the poem above).
In midlife, dance offers a beautiful blend of nostalgia and newfound self-expression, reminding us that it’s never too late to return to the passions that once made our hearts soar. Whether it's revisiting ballet classes from childhood or trying something entirely new, I believe that dance in midlife is a celebration of the enduring spirit within us all.
And, we get to wear tutus and twirl. What’s not to love?
Here’s a peek inside this year’s International Adult Ballet Festival (IABF) experience.
October 2023-July 2024: (Almost) weekly virtual private sessions with my teacher Sean Kelly. Our private sessions in May through July were very heavy on the solo choreography and we met in person once in February, May, and June.
June-July: Learned choreography to two group pieces virtually—Swan Lake and Waltz of the Flowers— with teacher Julie of Broche Ballet.
Saturday: Moved flight up a day to beat hurricane Debby.
Sunday: Practiced with Sean for a couple of hours and got ready for the IABF welcome party complete with heavy rain, strong wind, and lots of laughter.
Monday: Took a technique barre class with Julie, rehearsed Waltz of the Flowers and Swan Lake, and ran through my solo twice on stage (it’s always so different) in between emergency alerts to seek higher ground because the dam was being released. More heavy rain and strong wind.
Tuesday: Nature quieted. Started with a beginner ballet class with Sean and an artistry center combination class with Julie, rehearsed Waltz of the Flowers and Swan Lake, had a private session with Sean to go over pirouettes and the artistry of my solo, enjoyed a physical therapy session with the Pointe Doc, Nina. My Achilles tendon and calves were causing a lot of pain at this point and it hurt to get on demi pointe (necessary for all performance pieces I was in).
Wednesday: Started the day with another physical therapy session where Nina taped my heels and calves, followed by a class by Bianca Starr on ways to remember choreography (always so hard for me), a festive dress rehearsal, and a Madame Olga photo shoot party (love her!).
Thursday: Took a beginner ballet class with Bianca, did walkthroughs of our two group pieces, fumbled through (my body was really acting up!) a pre-show ballet barre class with Sean, and then showtime! The show started with our Swan Lake group piece (white pancake tutu shown above), my solo was shortly before intermission (costume below), and the program ended with Waltz of the Flowers (pink tutu and leotard shown above). Tim arrived that afternoon to see the show and joined our beautiful group of dancers for the Awards Banquet where I was over the moon to place first in the beginner contemporary category!
IABF 2025 Insights: This is my third year at this sweet festival and I feel much gratitude for the opportunity to perform with such kind, talented people who join us from all over the world. From February-June I had to put a lot of my ballet time and energy into the Washington Ballet weekly rehearsals and three performances, so it was nice to be able to shift my focus fully to IABF by mid-June.
One thing I’ve noticed during the past IABFs is how hard it is to “get on my leg” (balance) during classes at the festival. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m out of my element or what, but it’s frustrating to feel a regression that isn’t there at home. That coupled with the ongoing left hip pain (hopefully remedied by Friday’s surgery), new right hip pain (got a cortisone injection before I left DC), and the new Achilles and calf pain left me feeling what I described to others as “fragile.” Emotionally, physically, mentally.
I employed a lot of deep breathing with a hand over my heart and sought hugs from a few fellow dancers I know well and adore (and I’m not even a hugger). It all helped!
I love the connections that we make on the stage, in the audience cheering each other on, at meals, and everything in between. Julie of Broche Ballet has created a special community and cultivates it with such compassion. After my Washington Ballet experience, I appreciate this more than ever before.
As we left the ballet retreat center Friday morning en route to the Center for Great Apes, I told Tim how happy and light I felt. An event I adore and had prepped for since last fall was behind me, we were about to see rescued orangutans (oh my!), and then head to St. Pete for a weekend to ourselves with nothing else that needed to be done.
I share all of this to highlight the challenges that also pair with the deep joy of dance. It’s never too late to dance to your favorite song on stage, feel seen by a poet in a park, be fragile and do the thing anyway, or carve out time and space for what matters most to you at this time in your life. Midlife is just the beginning!
Le Vie en Rose Solo
Here’s my performance to La Vie en Rose at Broche Ballet's International Adult Ballet Festival choreographed, staged, and coached by Sean Kelly.
Thanks for all your kind words of encouragement over the years. For more on my adult ballet journey, previous performances, and tips for your own adult ballet journey, please peruse my notes here. I hope this inspires you to follow your midlife dreams on stage and off!
You’ll find more tranquility tools over on the Tranquility du Jour YouTube channel. Have a special request for an upcoming Tea with Kimberly video? Do tell! I’ll be recording new ones for you shortly!
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About Me
Hello! I'm a psychotherapist in Washington, DC, author of seven lifestyle books (next one on midlife), and host of the Tranquility Coterie. I’m in love with my 50s, ballet, pigs, pugs, and orangutans (random mix, I know!). I support women in finding more balance, beauty, and tranquility during this second half of life. More on my website and on Instagram.
A portion of all offerings support Pigs & Pugs Project, Borneo Orangutan Survival, and 1% for the Planet.
That poem was so good. What a talent. Your performance was wonderful, too. Cute outfit.