What should The Midst community do?
+ Burned out from the grown-up grind? Try kidulting.
Want to help build The Midst community?
We have our ideas of what a community of women in midlife want and need, but would love your input, too.
In the coming weeks, Tiffany Nieslanik, who recently joined us as our first official community builder (read about her below!), will talk with Midst readers about what’s top of mind for you during this mega-amazing-bananas experience called midlife. In the meantime, give us the short version by answering the poll below. — Amy Cuevas Schroeder
Hi, I’m Tiffany Nieslanik, head of community at The Midst
I’m a creative writer, community builder, bibliophile, mom, cat whisperer, and secret karaoke rapper. I live in Denver with my husband and three kids, where we thoroughly enjoy the copious amounts of sunshine, outdoor activities, and friendly people.
I’ve held a wide range of jobs in my time, but one of the most impactful was joining Yelp as one of their first 100 employees to help grow and nurture the Denver community of yelpers. I grew with the company over the next 11 years, taking on wider opportunities in the community world and learning how much I loved connecting with people. Since then, I’ve helped grow communities for working motherhood (The Mom Project) and travel nurses (Trusted Health), among other efforts.
In 2020, I went back to school to earn an M.A. in Creative Writing and recently started working on a science fiction novel that I’ve dreamed of writing since I was a kid. When not working on The Midst, you can find me writing novels, pitching articles, and working on other community-based freelance projects as they come up.
Since I was a child, I’ve often gone off the beaten path set up by our society for women. Demanding my aunts return my Barbies in exchange for building blocks. Refusing to wear anything pink/fluffy/dress-like when it wasn’t practical (read: without pockets.) Spending my afternoons alone, roaming the woods by my house with just my dog to keep me company. I joined the Army straight out of high school, traveled on my own in Europe for six months in my early twenties, and thought I’d never get married until I met the dreamiest partner in my 30s.
Now in my 40s, I see my friends asking more questions about the invisible work women do, why we don’t have more/better information for our healthcare concerns, and what an authentic-to-them life looks like, and I am here for it. I think the tide is turning, and absolutely cannot wait to see what the future holds for midlife and women and women in midlife.
I believe that the universe is full of magic. And so are you. I’m so glad you’re here.
I’d love to talk with you
If you’d like to talk 1-1 about community at The Midst, feel free to set up a time to chat with me! Or you can email me at tiffany@the-midst.com. As we build the community offerings, I’d love to hear from as many of you as possible about how we can navigate this midlife journey together.
Mental Health is kinda like our middle name here at The Midst. To celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we’ll share stories ranging from managing burnout to hormones’ effects on the brain to trauma care and recovery …
10 years of sobriety later, I want to share my story with the rising number of women alcoholics
By LAURIE WHITE
A few months after I got sober from alcohol in 2013, my sister pointed out the endless alcohol advertising as we drove through a town not far from our homes in the DC suburbs.
“Until you got sober I just never noticed before that alcohol signs are everywhere,” she said, pointing to the nearest roadside sign, mentioning billboards, every restaurant sign, and delivery trucks, not to mention television and the internet.
At the time, I was keenly aware of the absence of alcohol in my life after 25 years of progressive, destructive drinking, and its persistent presence everywhere while I tried not to drink it anymore. I was aware for decades that I could not stop putting alcohol in my body, and thought constantly about where I could get it, how much of it I needed, how much I did or didn’t have, how miserable it made me, and most of all, that I couldn’t quit it.
Burned out from the grown-up grind? Try kidulting.
How much time would you say you spend being an official grown-up? You know: dedicating your time, energy, and mental reserves to those activities that only a full-fledged adult has to do, like folding the laundry, sorting your finances, and doing the school run.
If your answer is “far too much”, it could be time to embrace your inner kidult.