The middle.
What does it mean? It can mean the center. It can signify the point between two other points or objects. It can be more metaphorical: simply being within something.
We fold something in the middle, cut it down the middle, mark the middle. We can also be in the middle of something. The middle distance is just that: the part of the picture or painting that is neither the foreground nor the background. It is the sometimes vague area, loosely defined, that doesn't represent either extreme.
These days, I find myself in that middle distance.
I have, for many years, had various blogs. Some were personal. Some were related to music or media. I have written for online publications. A little over a year ago I decided to start a music blog, that I have woefully not kept up. When trying to create that identity, I chose Middle Aged Metalhead. Because I find myself in those middle years of my life.
I am no longer young, yet not quite old (though some days I feel otherwise). The middle.
I find myself in the middle stages of my career. No longer in training, and almost a decade out of it by now. Yet still years away from being able to call it quits.
My two oldest children are or will soon be moved out of the house, with two more to go. In the middle of having raised my children.
At work, I often find myself in the middle, having to navigate that tricky area between being a clinician and working with administration. Stuck in it.
And I would describe my mental health also as being in the middle.
So the middle distance is an apt metaphor for my life. And seemed a reasonable place for me to center myself here. I hope to use this as a platform to explore some of the creative outlets I have wanted to engage in, but have felt that I did not have a home for them. This middle distance is a good place to bring things together here, and maybe, just maybe, be interesting every once in a while.