Midlife Mixtape

“Letting the kite string out”: Mary Dell Harrington, co-founder of the Grown & Flown media platform for parents of kids aged 15-25, talks about the “digital dinner table,” helping first generation college kids, and the benefits of meandering.

* Grown and Flown website

* Grown and Flown Parents Group on FB

Awwww. If this isn’t music made for 8-year-old girls, I don’t know what is.

Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here!

“You do you”: Reassuring, practical, and inspiring, Midlife Mixtape Podcast listeners share advice for people younger than them, including what they’d tell their younger selves (Don’t sled backwards!)

Nancy’s advice to her younger self includes “Go to that one Prince show, dummy.”

Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here!

“Value bravery”: Author, pilot, and former San Francisco firefighter Caroline Paul talks about the importance of instilling bravery into girls instead of fear, the changing laws of midlife attraction, and her punk rock Jackson Browne phase.

* Caroline’s website

* Books

* You Are Mighty

The Gutsy Girl

Lost Cat

A Little Tea Book

East Wind, Rain

Fighting Fire

* When Your Twin is a famous Baywatch Star, and You’re Not

Thanks, Caroline, for the excuse to sing along with this one at the top of my lungs while I wrote the show notes. It had been too long. “And the benediction of the neon lights…”

Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here!

“Redefining success”: Aimee Giese on pivoting from corporate work to creative endeavors, the importance of challenging yourself to new things at midlife, and a brilliant tip for recording shows that doesn’t annoy everyone else around you.

* Aimee’s website Greeblehaus.com

* Follow Aimee on Instagram

Aimee’s new music rec for Midlife Mixtape listeners: Jukebox the Ghost. Super fun listen/watch.

Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the Midlife Mixtape podcast – the song is “Be Free.” He’s heading out on tour, opening for Matt Nathanson (woot woot go Kyle aka M.!) – check out the tour schedule here!

“Workplace currency”: Susan Rietano Davey and Kelley Biskupiak, career coaches and founders of PrepareToLaunchU, on translating the opt-out years into marketable skills, letting go of perfectionism, and the importance of building your midlife tribe.

* PrepareToLaunchU website

Maybe the day will come when I don’t hum this song whenever a check from a freelance client arrives in my mailbox. But I hope it never does.

Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the Midlife Mixtape podcast – check him out here!

“Transition to contentment”: Jonathan Rauch on the scientific reasons life gets better after fifty, why the midlife slump is a normal and necessary, and how it’s a “we” not a “me” problem. Plus, Nancy’s excited to make like a Grandma Orca.

* Jonathan’s website

* The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50 – find links to buy the book here!

Time really is on your side, it turns out. As for the video: oh my god they were babies. BABIES I tell you.

Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the Midlife Mixtape podcast – check him out here!

“Endlessly curious”: Mixtape mavens Ellen and David talk about what it’s like to be a Humans of New York viral sensation, the midlife relationship that mixtapes built, and why rediscovering yourself is a cure for stagnation.

The original Humans of New York post:

 

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“He was the RA in my freshman dorm. His nickname was ‘Rock.’ He was blonde and skinny and made legendary mix tapes for the dance parties. We never talked much in college, but we became good friends when we reconnected at a reunion. The event was eighties themed. There were a lot of Talking Heads cover songs, and we danced all night. After that we started talking every day. Even though we live on different coasts, we’d find different ways to connect. He’d create scavenger hunts for me. He’d send me on missions to find obscure books and records. And we began making mix tapes together. Both of us come from research backgrounds, so we take our mix tapes very seriously. MMTR is our acronym for the meaning of music: ‘Magic, Meditation, Therapy, Reunion.’ So there’s a lot of MMTR mix tapes: ‘MMTR I,’ ‘MMTR II,’ ‘MMTR III,’ ‘MMTR 80’s,’ ‘MMTR 90’s.’ Then there’s ‘Clan McJangle,’ which is nothing but Scottish Pop. Then we’ve got another called ‘Buzz Gems,’ which is nothing but guitar songs under three minutes that alternate decades as you go down the playlist. Our mix tapes hold us together. Lately we’ve been working on a business together. And if we ever get too frustrated, we just put on our headphones, choose a mix tape, and hit play at the exact same time.”

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Nov 13, 2018 at 9:46am PST

David and Ellen’s “Buzz Gems” mix was inspired by the Buzzcocks, whose lead singer Pete Shelley passed away last week much too young. I always loved this weird little song. Be homosuperior in your interior this week, k?

Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the Midlife Mixtape podcast – check him out here!

“Grateful for crazy missteps”: Moving consultant Margaret Vandergriff on common mistakes in finding your midlife happy place, the importance of feeling the vibe, and how she turned her own moving missteps into a new career.

“Embrace the mystery”: “Eric Reads the News” columnist R. Eric Thomas on how a playwright became Elle.com’s current events humor columnist, his approach to pop culture osmosis, and drinking eggnog with Maxine Waters.

“Perhaps not ideal for a teen”: From the obsolete to the funny to the downright gross, Midlife Mixtape listeners share their most memorable means of earning a paycheck during their teen years. Something to listen to after you vote!