For most members of my high school graduating class, 2011 marked our 50th birthdays.  For some, 50 is a milestone achievement, while for others it is approached with dread.  My plan is to celebrate myself, my life, my achievements — I plan to have an astounding second act!

There is a healthy debate regarding whether women actually have midlife crises.  Is it a midlife crisis, or, is it that when we can finally take a breather from years of raising a family, managing a household, or building a career, we wake up to the fact that our lives are not quite what we expected them to be? Or maybe we are happy and satisfied, but just too tired to enjoy everything that we have worked so hard for?

When we reach our 40s and 50s, we often begin to experience loss firsthand – family, friends, and classmates.  It makes us think about our own mortality and we often begin to take stock of our lives.  If we died today, what would be our epitaph, what would people remember most about us?  Many times we begin to look back over our lives, remembering the dreams we left behind, remembering the things we may have given up to have families or careers.  Sometimes we are left wondering if our life has any meaning.

Read more, download or print here