Classic mid-life crisis cliches - what have you done??!!

I am an architect, mainly designing houses. The training was quite arduous and at times I felt I wouldn't make it but I kept going. I don't think it would be possible to start at 65 but there may be other new things you could try which would't take so long.

That's great, varian, can I ask what you do? Sadly I think at 65 I'm too old to be able to do that..

In my forties I began to think life was too short to be stuck in the wrong job and so reinvented myself by studying for seven years to qualify for the career I'd always wanted and still enjoy in my seventies.

JuliaSeizer44 what a lovely thread - so pleased for you!

I did learn to play the piano about thirty years ago, though!

I was quite adventurous when I was young, but have never been so in middle age. The most adventurous thing I do now is stand in a river and fish, and hope not to lose my footing and get washed away! I think that even my days of doing that are numbered! I had dinner with an old school friend a couple of years ago who had done the foothills of Everest thing, the Inca Trail and all sorts of other adventurous things, but admitted that she did them to get her head straight after a messy divorce! Perhaps that's the answer!

Slightly off thread but I have been so bl**dy sensible and boring all my life and never done anything crazy that I have vowed that when I come back for my next life it will be as a reckless slut.........and I can't wait!!

I'd like to see a murmuration of starlings
(on the bucket list)

I have never had an urge to do anything adventurous. But these past few days I've thought of taking early retirement - no one seems to know how to run a business these days and I resent having to sort out other people's mistakes for them, which seems to be all I do these days.

Then I would just enjoy being at home and getting all my photos sorted out and doing some sewing.

I remember with horror the 'piano smashing' competitions that seemed to be popular in the 1960s.

hildajennij - pianos need not be expensive. Have a word with your local auction house as around here they often cannot sell the pianos they get in and end up dumping them. You could end up with one for free !

As I seem to have missed my mid-life crisis (due to various crises which occurred!!) may I have a later-life crisis please - any suggestions what a rather creaky 70+ woman can do? (no, I am not thinking of climbing Everest or even ambling in the foothills of the Himalayas)

Suggestions on a postcard please

You are all such a wonderful and inspiring bunch. Yes, post divorce 5 years ago I relaunched and rebranded myself back on the dating scene. Well what can I say. Still yet to find the love of my life. Oldest son (brace yourself for a happy surprise) made me a grandmother to a lovely granddaughter now aged 3, moved home to another town. Thought about the bungee jump or sky dive but now am worried that something will pop in my head and kill me. .
Yes Im def on the HRT, which has absolutely saved my sanity thank God. Am thinking of the whole facial renovation thing as I no longer think that my pot of Olay can do everything required. Would love to travel more but still have kids work and a household to run / manage single handed. Have developed a totally closet desire to be held in a tight clinch with Tom Hardy . Tell no one !!

Had mine at 49, did a few of the obvious things - got a tattoo, changed husbands etc etc and have never regretted any of them! Lots of 'holidays of a lifetime' later and many many new experiences under our belts we are now just hoping to avoid dementia so we can remember all the wonderful things we have done! More to come we hope, but DHs health is not so good now so bungee jumping is off limits thank goodness!

At age 49, to escape an abusive mother and a stalking ex, I packed up and moved, with my chronically ill teenaged daughter, to the other side of the world. Eleven years of work and travel and meeting amazing new people followed, until I returned home, complete with the ultimate holiday souvenir - the love of my life!

hildajennij...I taught myself to play the piano two years ago. i didn't have a piano to start with, but religously taught myself to read music first for which you do not need a piano. (Went on the internet and looked for childrens books to learn from). Then I got a second hand keyboard £10 and learned the the notes/keys on the piano..and slowly but surely I can now play with two hands! The most expensive part of the exercise were the lessons I took for about 6 months (£16 per half an hour) butreached Grade 1!! I have now bought a secondhand piano for £130. Best thing I ever did!!

I too had to give up the HRT because of Breast cancer. I am 64 now, and just latley we seem to lurch from one crisis to another, but none of them fun. I did get the hairdresser to put some emerald green streaks in my hair last time I went though, and everyone says they look great. The only thing is these bright colours do fade, but they have faded to a nice ash blonde colour so I am very pleased. will probably go back to the Supermarket stuff soon though as it is a bit expensive :-(

Nanna58

I don't have a great deal of energy, much of my wishing is on a bucket list!!

And no, I haven't done a bungee jump

Well i think your all very fab and engertic.
At 36 i was struck down with m/e and other autoimmune disease followed .Im Always having to rest and lob abt ..crisis has always been my life .However i did bite the bullett, and went privately for a mid face bleapaplasty Thats Upper and lower eye bags removed .Except i didnt have bags .
What i had was troughs! Thats what they are called And i had so much excess skin in them , that they could have housed a few pigs alright .Only im crap at techn stuff, id post a b4 and after photo .But i dont no how to do it .That was all i had energy for, im afraid !.But you are so lucky to be able to have the health and the energy .I really envy you all .

Now it all makes sense.
I must have now hit my Mid Life Crisis because I have recently had a yen to learn to sail a dingy. I loved canoeing when I was younger but I don't think that I could manage to be cramped up in a canoe at my age, hence the sailing idea.
I have been in touch with a local sailing club who seem very friendly, and plan to give it a go soon.
I thought that this Mid Life Crisis was just a man thing ?

Mid life crisis at 70 - well we've recently heard of the 'world's oldest man' expiring at the age of 146. So it seems anything's possible....

Just renewed our passports and wonder if we will have to again as we will be 81 and 79 .......

The thing is, until we die we don't know when we're mid life, so I'm going to go ahead and have one now using the best ideas on this thread!

Thought that was in your fifties.