Comments on: On feeling itchy

By: Lynn

Lynn — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:24:38 +0000

I know that feeling…I think it has a lot to do with the upcoming 4-0 birthday. A feeling like you are ready for something new, need something different to happen, something exciting. I’m just not too sure what that is, and with little kids, you don’t have the flexibility to just take off and follow your heart’s desire.

I find I need to have something that is for me… some project that I think showcases what I can do and lets me learn something. But there’s still something hovering… the need for something big. We’ll see where it takes me.

In other news, got your note about BOLO, you’re on the list!

By: Raine

Raine — Wed, 19 May 2010 14:17:25 +0000

Wow Finola, you typed the words right off my keyboard!

Feeling exactly the same way and going through the same thing…..I keep telling myself these are the golden years, enjoy the kids, enjoy the chaos, but instead I try to scratch the itch….changing houses, changing careers (trying to find out what I was meant to do and make it happen – at 39!!), taking correspondence courses while on mat leave, trying at all costs to avoid the return to the cubicle in a few months…picture the cat whose limbs are flailing all over trying not to be forced into the carrying case taking him to the vet!

I came across this quote not too long ago: “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” I say go ahead and scratch…with 40 looming I have come to realize that if I don’t start doing something right now to find my happiness, to find what makes me tick, in another 40 it will be too late and I’ll ask why I didn’t start 40 years earlier.

By: DaniGirl

DaniGirl — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:13:47 +0000

I don’t know about “itchy” per se, but I have noticed over the last four years that I get to feeling kind of funky in May. Call it out of sorts, or the blues, or maybe even a little depressed? I dunno, but for all the beauty in the world in May, something about the season throws me off kilter. Weird, eh? So maybe it’s not a time of life thing but a time of year thing? What makes me most crazy is the feeling of something bugging me, something not right, the need for a way to make myself feel better — and no idea what that elusive “something” might be.

By: Vicky

Vicky — Tue, 18 May 2010 02:45:10 +0000

I know this is a loaded question, but I’m throwing it out there. Does your ‘itchiness’ have anything to do with your level of happiness? I’m only asking because whenever I’ve felt that itch, it’s been because something wasn’t quite right in my life…most of the time it was work or relationship related.

By: BeachMama

BeachMama — Tue, 18 May 2010 01:50:33 +0000

You are not alone. I get that itchy feeling too, sometimes it means I need to purge and clean the house, sometimes I need a vacation and sometimes I just don’t know what I need. But, I get through it and carry on. It happens though when you figure it out the itch will be gone.

By: coffee with julie

coffee with julie — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:11:04 +0000

Thanks for all your comments! Although I am still itchy, for some reason it does feel somewhat soothing to know I am not the only one who gets this way

By: XUP

XUP — Mon, 17 May 2010 22:25:14 +0000

I’m seriously itchy as well, but I’m pretty sure I know where it’s coming from – a variety of sources actually. And I know the only way out of it is a BIG project of some sort. I need a big project. Anyone??

By: Finola

Finola — Mon, 17 May 2010 22:08:09 +0000

I have been feeling the same way for a while now and I don’t know how to get out of it. I have already changed jobs, started a blog, decided to run a half-marathon, joined a book club etc, but I still feel the same way.

I do tend to think it’s a mid-life thing for me. I think these years of two parents working, bringing up kids, carrying mortgages and car payments, and having most spare moments filled with chores and tasks take a toll. For me I think I just need to ride out a couple of more years, and maybe I will feel more myself again.

I hope you figure it out better than I have.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Mon, 17 May 2010 17:51:35 +0000

I think it’s pretty common, Julie. I feel it too, and I always wonder if it’s a mid-life thing. I have a tendency to “lose myself” a bit being so busy and raising three small kids – it makes me feel the need for change in a big way. Until I realize that I am happy exactly the way things are right now.

A new wardrobe??? You go girl!! That should set your itch straight in no time

By: Liisa

Liisa — Mon, 17 May 2010 17:41:49 +0000

I hear you on this. But this happens to me about once a year. Here’s what I’m doing to control the itch, though I wouldn’t take this as advice as I am far from an expert in controlling long-term itch:

1) I quit my job and bought a book of 1500 baking recipes… and plan to try them out.
2) I’m planning a party.
3) I’m trying to plan a few mini family getaways for the summer.
4) I’m trying to get involved in some new volunteer work.
5) And of course this new stay-at-home thing will require a new wardrobe… all on a one income family budget.