‘Late bloomer’ would be a polite way to describe the teenage me: mirror shy, adrift in big plastic specs and BHS jumpers bought by Mum while my peers were going out and Doing Sex.
My friends tend to be offset by a half-generation from me, in either direction, and I sometimes wonder if that's what's freed me from associating blooming with deadlines or ages: I've seen friends bloom along the full length of their respective timelines.
(Apparently, I'm one of those perennials whose unseen roots spread below ground, via rhizomes. When I've bloomed, it's been a subtle thing, petals blending into the surrounding foliage...but that foliage is joyously verdant.)
That's really interesting! Connection with other generations as a default for friendship and family definitely sounds freeing. (I do think deadlines for life are bollocks, really, but lots of the world seems quite keen on them.) Subtle blooming also sounds wonderful. You've been there all along, but quietly.
Oh my... I think you and I must be on the same wavelength. But you have a better icon/logo than I do. And a great intro post. :) - Hello, I am also a "Late Bloomer." AND I, too, am 47?? What the what?? Congrats on getting mawwied!! (I love that scene.) I thought of the title of my Substack in about August 2022, or maybe earlier. I came up with it because I am always late. And I, too, have done things much later in life than other people do, for various reasons (mostly to do with childhood trauma and family dysfunction.) "There's nothing new under the sun," right? Cheers! - HeatherBlue
Oh hi! I meant to do a little hunt about for the title but never got round to it - glad to meet a fellow late bloomer! Subscribing now and looking forward to more serendipity.
Really enjoyed the read, Susie. Congratulations on your upcoming mawwidge and fingers crossed for the House Buy (have never done it but can imagine it's a Big Stress).
So sorry to hear your Dad passed. Interesting that by writing his eulogy, your creativity is pondering more about real people. Am also 47 - *loving* being this age and very interested in, and stimulated by, emotionally literate women my age or older these days... 'Elders' I've heard them referred to as. El
My friends tend to be offset by a half-generation from me, in either direction, and I sometimes wonder if that's what's freed me from associating blooming with deadlines or ages: I've seen friends bloom along the full length of their respective timelines.
(Apparently, I'm one of those perennials whose unseen roots spread below ground, via rhizomes. When I've bloomed, it's been a subtle thing, petals blending into the surrounding foliage...but that foliage is joyously verdant.)
That's really interesting! Connection with other generations as a default for friendship and family definitely sounds freeing. (I do think deadlines for life are bollocks, really, but lots of the world seems quite keen on them.) Subtle blooming also sounds wonderful. You've been there all along, but quietly.
Oh my... I think you and I must be on the same wavelength. But you have a better icon/logo than I do. And a great intro post. :) - Hello, I am also a "Late Bloomer." AND I, too, am 47?? What the what?? Congrats on getting mawwied!! (I love that scene.) I thought of the title of my Substack in about August 2022, or maybe earlier. I came up with it because I am always late. And I, too, have done things much later in life than other people do, for various reasons (mostly to do with childhood trauma and family dysfunction.) "There's nothing new under the sun," right? Cheers! - HeatherBlue
Oh hi! I meant to do a little hunt about for the title but never got round to it - glad to meet a fellow late bloomer! Subscribing now and looking forward to more serendipity.
P.S. Would it be weird if I subscribe to yours? :D
Really enjoyed the read, Susie. Congratulations on your upcoming mawwidge and fingers crossed for the House Buy (have never done it but can imagine it's a Big Stress).
So sorry to hear your Dad passed. Interesting that by writing his eulogy, your creativity is pondering more about real people. Am also 47 - *loving* being this age and very interested in, and stimulated by, emotionally literate women my age or older these days... 'Elders' I've heard them referred to as. El
Thank you El! 47's good, isn't it? Not the creaky bits but the giving less of a crap.