Falling Leaf Takes Flight

Falling leaf
Takes flight:
Floating
Yellow
Butterfly.
-Me

Back at it for a bit.

In 2011, I started this blog as an exploration of midlife and Generation X, thoughts about how the two may fit together, and some examples of how I've been influenced by older relatives.

Along the way, I've researched, contemplated, and rambled, sharing findings, my own poetry, and other people's voices. I've also shared some of my own childhood memories and insight into previous generations.

Life, and perhaps especially midlife, requires a balance of holding on and letting go, which is why, in 2012, I considered how people of any age stake claims but ultimately find ourselves powerless to keep anything.

To my horror, I recently encountered a blog post on a site for people over the age of . . . gasp . . . 50 . . . that had the audacity to mention that the first Gen Xers are heading into a half-century of life. The author does a nice job of looking at Gen Xers and Boomers and the bickering that still carries on between us. If you want to ponder where you are in the midst of all this generational evolution, click here to read: "Don't Call Me 'Slacker.'"

My last blog post was over a year and a half ago, on my 20th wedding anniversary. Since then, our household of two mid-life Gen Xers and two teenagers has had plenty of experience with middleness, generational interaction, and holding on and letting go. Bound to life in a human body, I'm still naturally inclined to want to claim and keep, only to realize the futility of grasping tightly. I've become more practiced with holding lightly. I continue to find that looking toward our Creator offers glimpses of holiness and certain hope in the midst of this imperfect and otherwise hopeless existence.

I've been playing with words and thoughts in the form of poetry and will share some of what I've written in the coming days. For the most part, I'll let short pieces stand on their own. Undoubtedly, a sense of middleness, a flavor of Gen X, and my personality will be evident.

If you read anything I post, please feel free to respond . . . to say hello, to react, or to talk about what topics are brewing with you in this season of your life.

DISCLAIMER FOR ALL MY POEMS: Realistic fiction is a writing genre; please keep that in mind. Just because I've wrestled with turning human experience and emotion into words doesn't mean that any particular piece is autobiographical. If some of you who know me find that something disturbs you on my behalf, pull your eyes to the bottom of each post where I will have this verse as a reminder of my true foundation: 

My soul, wait in silence for God only, 

for my hope is from Him. 

He only is my rock and my salvation, 

my stronghold; 

I shall not be shaken.

                              -Psalm 62: 5-6

This blog post is part of a series of writing (Feb.-March 2014) by Tammy Fletcher Bergland, sharing original poetry. tbergland.blogspot.com