Are You A Late Bloomer? So Am I!

From My Blog Archive: Blessed are the Late Bloomers

In 2019 I listened to Srinivas Rao interview Rich Karlgaard on the The Unmistakable Creative podcast about Rich's new book Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement.

Rich and I grew up in the same hometown, we graduated high school one year apart, and my step-brother ran track with him. Listening to Rich talk about his dad’s legacy and growing up in Bismarck, North Dakota brought back a lot of memories.

I've always identified as a late bloomer, so Rich's message really resonated with me. Whether it was getting my bachelor's degree when I was nearly 30, running a marathon at 60, or writing my memoir, I've always bushwhacked my own path.

After I listed to that podcast in 2019, it was a challenge getting back to my memoir after writing fiction for NaNoWriMo. To get in the mood, I dug out old journals trying to mine some material.

I came across a writing assignment I had submitted on November 23, 1999 in response to a writing prompt called the Book of Life by Eldonna Edwards, who was teaching an online writing class. Back then, you found “Online Writing Classes” through internet writing bulletin boards. I used my new AOL email to receive weekly writing assignments that I would forward for her feedback.

One week, our assignment was to imagine our lives as a book. We were to picture who would play our characters in a movie, then write the chapter headings related to the story. This is what I wrote:

The book of my life would be creative nonfiction. A well-crafted piece of work with dashes of poetic verse, sprinkled liberally with humor, the story would open on the Dakota plains.

If made into a movie, my parents would be played by an earnest Ben Affleck and a troubled Claire Danes. My traumatized teen would be played by Drew Barrymore (remember, this is 1999), up through my searching 20s, where the story would move to Southern California. I would be played in mid-life and later years by Meryl Streep. My husband would be played by Kevin Costner and my daughter would play herself.

Title: Late Bloomer, A Coming of Age Tale

1 - Fun, Frolic, and Carefree Days|
2 - The Isolated Early Years
3 - Teen Turmoil
4 - Searching for Answers Outside Myself
5 - Military Missions and a Failed Marriage
6 - Believing in Myself
7 - The Wonders of a Blind Date
8 - Life is Good at 30
9 - A Decade of Family Fun
10 - Hope, Dreams, and Unexpected Emptiness
11 - Life Sucks at 40
12 - Climbing Out of the Pit
13 - Moving and Other Chaotic Choices
14 - The Phoenix Rises
15 - Timeless Mother - The Crone Years

I have no recollection of this assignment and others written during that email class, but I'm glad I kept them. When I wrote this in 1999, I was at the beginning of Chapter 13. Seven months later my family and I would move to Michigan where other chaotic choices ensued.

Late Bloomers. It's a way of life.

Blessed are the late bloomers, who believe in themselves, follow their intuition, and trust that the journey of life will take them where they need to be.

I turned 69 in May so I’m in my 70th rotation around the sun. The exercise was written 25 years ago. If I did the exercise again, I’d add a few more chapters…including one about starting over again and another about the joy of being a Grandmother.

What about you…what would be the chapters in your Book of Life?