Making a Case for the Middle

"The Middle" has gotten itself a bad rap. No one really, truly aspires to be there.  It's not a significant place, like the best or even the worst.  It doesn't get much air time.  But I often find myself there, and it's not particularly a bad thing.

In most race events,  from the gun to the finish line I am somewhere in the middle. With good reason.  You see, I can't start in the front of the race because Kenyans and super-hard-core marathon types would run me over in a matter of seconds--and who am I to put myself in harm's way? Fortunately,  I don't end up last either, because I somehow manage to be slightly faster than the walkers.  While I might be in the latter part of the middle, my race times consistently are somewhere between the fastest people and the slowest ones, and that usually means I am running with some semblance of a group around me.  I'm social like that, which brings me to my next point.

In "friend" gatherings, I typically choose a seat somewhere in the center of the action.  I haven't decided whether it's because I want to be in the loop or just really close to the appetizers, but either way it's got its benefits. Of course it's not that I won't sit on the end, just that the middle is more preferable.  Though that's not to say the end doesn't have its good points, too, since it's easier to carry on conversations with one or two people and little distraction. But the middle will inevitably draw me in every time.

Somehow, some way, I have also become (gasp!) middle aged.  I'm not sure how this happened, since my brain insists that I'm about 25.  When my parents were my age, I was in high school, and they seemed ancient.  I, on the other hand, feel like I'm barely old enough to pay less car insurance.  It's an interesting phenomenon, this forties thing.  In younger years, you take so many things for granted:  skin elasticity, the ability to withstand extreme temperatures, tolerance for live concert noise, and the ability to pull an all-nighter.  At least I'm still eating dinner after 7.  As long as I can avoid the 5:00 p.m. buffet line, I'm probably okay.

The middle places I've mentioned are far better than some other middles I can think of.  For instance, middle-aged trumps middle of a natural disaster.  Middle of a race is infinitely better than being in the middle of a divorce or Hollywood scandal.  Yes, there are far worse things than being slow and older.  After all, true wisdom is only attained through a combination of age and experience.  And who wouldn't want to achieve true wisdom? 

And so, I will remain steadfast in my "middles". I will enjoy running in the middle of the pack, even if it means my times don't set any personal records.  I'll enjoy sitting in the middle of my friends as we share stories, food, and beverages.  And I'll definitely enjoy being middle aged, at least for the next 30-40 years.