If you read my post on Tuesday you already know that June began as an unexpectedly sad month and yet with ‘stop all the clocks’ absurdity, life carried on. There were still work deadlines to be met and meetings to go to. The sun shone – or rather it didn’t much here – Wordsworth would have some ‘pathetic fallacy’ context on the fact that we were covered by grey cloud for most of the month.
With everything that had been going on Father’s Day came out of nowhere and found us without plans so we decided to just head out and see where we ended up. It was lovely to see the youngest and his dad relax for the first time in a while and it made me appreciate the deep comfort to be found in family
You can probably tell which member of the family was driving!
Cotton shirt (now in the sale, gifted SS25); 70s flared jeans (now in the sale, gifted SS25); Me+Em cardigan (past season); Sezanne sandals (past season)
Another unexpected disappointment in June was M&S cancelling their contracts but I still had meetings to go to. Here I was heading to London and I managed to catch up with the eldest for a quick coffee and a hug afterwards. I had to stalk this dress for returns and I think it’s almost sold out now that it’s in the sale but it’s perfect for a summer day where you want to look pulled together and uncreased.
Ponte shirtdress; Sunglasses; Boden ballet flats (past season)
When the sun showed its face we made the most of the long evenings by going for walks to catch the sunset. Ted has a habit of grinding to a halt at this point on the canal path because he knows the gate leads to the pub that has a jar of biscuits on the bar – you can’t beat the eager hope of a dog can you?
Jeans (now in the sale, gifted SS25); Nobody’s Child blouse (past season)
Towards the end of the month we had our usual trip to Newcastle to catch up with mum-in-law who’s been going through a bit of a bad patch with her Dementia. The hallucinations that come with Lewy Body seem to be gathering pace again. In a way it’s a good thing because she spends most of her days believing that Mal’s dad, brothers and sister who have all died are visiting her, she chats away to them and finds it comforting but is then confused when they disappear.
We were heading out to see her here, happy to have arrived in sunshine.
Denim jumpsuit (gifted SS25)
The next day it was actually hot – and I mean hot hot, the sort of weather you’ve been having down south.
Linen trousers (now in the sale, gifted SS25); Sunglasses; Zara vest top (past season); Stories sandals (past season)
On Saturday we had a longstanding promise to go to a disco event that was raising funds for Newcastle’s beautiful cathedral where there was an extremely jolly dancing vicar…
… it was spectacular but a bit odd. We loved daytime discos when they first started last year but now they’ve really caught on and seem to be preceded by bottomless brunches so they’re getting a bit messy and it was strange having that kind of set-up in a sacred old building like this. And I realise that makes me sound very staid but it didn’t feel quite right. Anyway we had an amazing thunderstorm on the way home, there was nothing for it but to embrace the rain.
Silver metallic vest top; Jeans; Trainers
The winds continued to blow on Sunday but at least they were warm so I could wear a t-shirt and this one’s just been sent to me for festival season. I’m always happy to support a team of midlife women working together and I’m very pleased to see that they’re producing t-shirts in colours other than black and white now. The fabric is soft and I love the cut, you need to size down though – all of their pieces are oversized and I’m wearing a size 10 here.
There’s is a rather odd installation outside The Baltic Gallery behind me but it’s quite striking in such an urban landscape…
T-shirt (gifted SS25); Jeans (gifted SS25); Arket sandals (past season)
And here’s Monday when we were on our way home again – the weather that we’ve had on repeat for most of June while the rest of you have been bathed with sunshine. This dress has become one of my favourites this season and it’s now in the sale with a few sizes in stock.
Pink cheesecloth dress (now in the sale, gifted SS25); Silver slingbacks Boden past season
While we’re on the subject of sales, you can get an extra 10% off Boden’s sale prices at the moment here with code SS25X10, they’re now up to 60% off so there are some real bargains to be found. Me+Em have also launched the first wave of their sale here, they’re reducing their summer stuff and clearing the winter backlog so there are some good finds. I’m going to point out this vest which is their usual careful cut, you’ll see me wearing one in pale blue in a minute but this is a lovely buy for wearing with jeans because it’s tonal so it’ll work for a slimming, lengthening effect and at 50% off it’s a sensible price. It’s also available in biscuit and cream or chocolate and cream and the shorts are in the sale too.
The simple mixed media dresses with fitted jersey top and cotton skirts are now half price, available in orange, black, navy and white plus khaki (but that colour isn’t reduced).
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I have these towelling palazzo pants and they’re particularly good for travelling in, especially if you have a long flight because they’re a stylish cut, they’re comfortable and the texture means they don’t show any splashes or spills you might build up on the way. They’re so good that I have them in the bright blue as well which is also in the sale.
The knitwear’s also worth looking at, Me+Em do beautiful cashmere and the sale brings it down to a reasonable price. Once again I’m thinking of chic tonal dressing with denim here – this cardigan with its integrated waistcoat is a superchic buy and it’s 50% off.
And for anyone with the budget… I’m dreaming of this shearling jacket and just how useful it would be for the Newcastle winters. It’s actually great value at half price and you’d have it forever but you have to have a fair bit of fun money to splash about.
Anyway, back to midlife lately. That brings us up to last weekend when we took the youngest back to Leeds so that he could pack up his student room. As you know he left very suddenly so he’s missed out on his final weeks of uni. It was nice that two of his housemates were still there packing as well, these three have been friends since their very first week in halls so it’s lovely that they’ve stuck together. We went out for lunch and left them to it for a while. When we got back the Last Post was blasting through the windows as they did a ceremonial march around the house for the final time. A little moment that hopefully gave him some kind of closure on his university days.
Of course it was baking hot in ‘the south.’ He wanted a photo next to the barbecue he built with rubble he found, it’s seen them through a few giddy nights since last September.
T-shirt; Jeans; Sunglasses; Silver Puma Ballet trainers (sold out)
Midlife keeps reminding me time and time again that life is about your people. As an introvert it’s very easy for me to lose hours, days and weeks in words… either writing them or reading them. I’m so grateful to all of the patient friends and family members I have who pull me out of that every so often and remind me just how nourishing human contact can be. When times are tough we need our people around us and I can see that so vividly at the moment as the youngest supports the people in his life who need it and leans on others in return.
We put so much effort and time into our work lives and yet assume that friendship and love will rise around us organically (yes this is a note to self). It’s so important to rebalance that and appreciate that in the long run, love and friendship has far greater value than billing. A couple of weeks ago I came downstairs one morning to find that a new WhatsApp group had sprung up overnight. It was a group of old friends from my very first job after graduating – we all worked on Autocar magazine which was a frenzied environment in the late 80s. None of us enjoyed it but we had so much fun despite the job that we all stayed there far too long. Most days now I find myself chuckling at my desk at something that’s been said, just as I used to back in 1989 and I feel lighter for the reconnection with friends from my young, carefree days.
As I look ahead from this midlife stage I often think of the people I know as being like the layers of an onion. At the core is family and radiating out from that are all the layers of people that I want to keep in my life, some I love dearly and see quite often, others I love just as much but only see occasionally. On the outer layer are people I come across perhaps in a work environment or village setting that I like to see but who will never be actual friends. The brown skin that peels off and falls away are the friendships that don’t stand the test of time and it’s important to let those go – you only have so much time so the people in your onion have to be the ones that truly matter to you.
We all know that we’re moving into a new stage of life and that as the busy-ness of work and perhaps bringing up a family drops away, we have to fill it with the right new things. And people should be at the heart of that, even for the introverts, it’s just up to us to decide on who and how many they are. I want to say thank you to everyone who wrote a comment or sent a message this week, I will reply to you all as soon as I can. It’s made me reflect on how many new friends Midlifechic has brought me over the years and I’m so looking forward to spending a bit of time with some of you in Birmingham in August and especially in Colombia next year (there are still a few places available on that trip if you’re interested).
Mal and I are going away for a few days next week so there won’t be a post on Friday but I’ll be back the week after that. Until then I wish you happy summer days in the sunshine and I hope you’re finding time to spend with the people who matter to you.
Disclosure: ‘Midlife Lately June 2025 – Part 2’ is not a sponsored post
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