Welcome to Not a Serious Life

Let's take it down a level.

Ever feel like you’re trying to stuff yourself into someone else’s box, but not in a fun way? 

We’re each our own shapes and deserve to feel the joy of living authentically with all of our pointy parts and edges. 

But I know that being truly myself is something I’ve struggled to do as I get older. It’s just different at this age than when I was a virginal, bespectacled 16-year-old in thrifted “old man” pants and a half-shaved head. I have the same angst and fluctuating hormones, but now I have to schedule things like summer camp and soccer classes for a very small person — and not so I can buy myself flowers or write my name in the sand, but so that I can spend more time working. 

With Not a Serious Life, I plan on writing in what I’m calling “bloggy style” to stay true to my blog roots, which eventually grew into my work as a journalist. I want to share irreverent thoughts, silly moments, and personal perspectives on style, art, music, television, activism, baking, sobriety, gardening, parenting, perimenopause, and whatever other situation I feel needs some attention. I want to write about Justin Bieber and native plants, if I’m so inclined, and not have to pitch my idea around until an editor opens their gate.  

I want to share this with everyone, but especially with people who really remember getting their first AOL screen name. At 43, I am in “middle age.” And, for me, this time of life isn’t about midlife crises but about adjusting: adjusting to changes in our bodies, health, perspectives, and what’s expected of us socially — by friends, family, and in the workforce. How we’re doing that in the 2020s is something I’d like to explore. 

Some of us are living with a lot of debt, no health insurance, sick parents and needy children. Some of us have massive retirement funds, really talented gardeners, and kids who don’t whine. But we’re all living at the tail end of a miserable, deadly pandemic. And I think most of us have a pretty substantial desire to still feel like we recognize ourselves in the mirror. I hope this is a platform where I can do that, be myself, and explore what I think is cool or goofy — and maybe, one day, others can join me here. 

We have to call a plumber, we are tired of the endless scroll, but I still think we can sit back and have a laugh. We don’t need life to be serious all of the time, even when we’ve got serious stuff on the mind. Let’s take on this weird age in our shifting bodies and get bloggy about what’s going on.