A Strange Thud at Dawn: Midlife Lessons on Anticipation & Change
- Sep 18
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Finding joy, staying flexible, and why small surprises matter referencing Joy Mangano’s wisdom
At 6:15 a.m., I woke to a sharp thud above my head.Worse—it wasn’t even my house.
My son had been called out of town, so I was staying overnight with my three grandkids. It was Saturday, and no one should have been up this early.
Maybe it was a burglar? Or a raccoon? Another thud came from upstairs, where the kids’ bedrooms are.
The Surprise Upstairs
When I climbed the stairs, I found my eight-year-old grandson—already dressed head to toe in his soccer uniform. Cleats and all.
The game was more than six hours away.
“Why are you dressed already?” I asked.“I can’t wait. I’m forward today.”
His excitement was unstoppable. Too much wiggling and goofy energy for me to even snap a photo.
Anticipation Is Its Own Kind of Prayer
I wanted to tell him to go back to bed. To protect the quiet.But instead, I let his joy set the pace.
Water bottle, packing snacks, gulping down Cheerios. Even without the cleats, he still tapped his socked feet in excitement. I took a breath and let the sound become part of the morning soundtrack.
Midlife often teaches us to manage expectations—our own and everyone else’s.
But anticipation is its own kind of prayer. It says: something good is coming.
Joy isn’t tidy. Sometimes the most generous thing we can do is let delight go first.
What My Painting Reminded Me
Later, when I looked at one of my birch paintings, I realized it carried the same energy as my grandson’s grin—steady, uplifting, impossible to ignore.
That’s what art does. It reminds us that joy leaves a mark, whether it’s in brushstrokes or in silly, up-too-early morning energy.
Midlife Reflection
I spend so much of life managing expectations—mine, others’, the calendar’s—trying to hold the day still so nothing tips. But anticipation is its own kind of prayer. It says: something good is coming. It reminds me that joy isn’t tidy, and sometimes the most generous thing I can do is let delight go first.
And it’s not just kids who teach us this.
Inventor Joy Mangano—creator of the Miracle Mop and Huggable Hangers—puts it another way: “Take your eye off the prize, because it might change.”
She explains: we can’t always know where we’ll end up. The goalposts shift, the finish line moves. What matters is taking the very next step forward.
When I think of my grandson’s goofy excitement at 6:15 a.m., I realize: anticipation fuels us, but flexibility sustains us.
🌿 3 Benefits of Staying Open to Change
Less pressure, more freedom. Letting go of rigid outcomes frees us to enjoy the present moment.
Space for surprises. We notice joy in unexpected places—whether in a child’s cleats or a shift in our own goals.
Continued growth. Changing direction isn’t failure; it’s proof we’re still moving forward.
Midlife has its share of thuds
—news we didn’t ask for, changes we didn’t plan. But there are also mornings like this, when anticipation and adaptability meet.
Both change and midlife remind us: Get up, tie your shoes, and take the next step.
💙 This blog post is part of my “Life in Brushstrokes” reflections, stories that blend art, resilience, and the surprises of midlife.
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