‘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. The adult me continued the theme, finally clocking at 33 that I was actually a big gay. And now, at 47, I find myself about to do all the stuff that a lot of people my age have done already.
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.)
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
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.)
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
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