Why Everyone Should Have a Mid-Life Crisis

My parents uprooted our lives to pursue their true passion. I am forever grateful.

Stark Raving

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Photo by Peter Herrmann on Unsplash

Mr. and Mrs. Stark, of 22, Hagginton Hill, were proud to say they had perfectly normal jobs, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything passionate or creative, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense. Jeremy Stark, aka my dad, worked as an accountant for the city council and was renowned for being unflappable. Whether in the middle of the stressful budget season or at the Christmas party, he was quiet and serene, with soft grey eyes and a crisply ironed suit. My mom, on the other hand, was highly flappable, which was a challenge as she taught French to high-schoolers. One day she came home with half her hair raggedly chopped off by some 90s mean girl. She gave no explanation, just shook her head and said “No more” as she poured herself a large glass of rosé.

From that point on, she was a stay-at-home mum. I was the youngest of three sisters, all born within four years. We were a mess of ginger hair, high-pitched voices, and epic, albeit dangerous, games. You would have thought that my mom would have had enough on her hands, but she missed work and itched for a project. So one rainy Christmas day, after we had unwrapped all the presents, she took a…

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Stark Raving

Intersectional feminism and environmental issues. Let’s make the world a kinder, more sustainable place. Support my work! https://starkraving.medium.com/members