Today, I’m feeling grumpy. There’s no real reason for it (apart from hormones, obviously!), nothing dramatic has happened, and yet… here we are. Slightly irritable, a bit fed up, low on energy, and just generally not in the mood for much at all.
And I think this is something that doesn’t get talked about enough, especially in midlife. These days where you feel off for no obvious reason. A bit achey, a bit hormonal, a bit tired, and not entirely yourself.
It’s funny, because there’s that phrase “grumpy old men” (and I suppose grumpy old women too), usually said in a slightly joking way. But the truth is, you don’t have to be old to feel like that. Some days, you just wake up feeling… well, grumpy. And today is definitely one of those days for me.
There’s the unexplained aches and pains that seem to appear out of nowhere. The kind where you think, “Where did that come from?” The low-level moodiness that sits just under the surface. And the lethargy… oh, the lethargy. That heavy, can’t quite be bothered feeling, even when you’ve got things you want to do.
I think a lot of it comes down to hormones. Perimenopause has a lot to answer for. The shifts in energy, the mood swings, the days where you feel completely fine followed by days where everything feels just that little bit harder.
But here’s what I’m learning… It’s actually okay to have off days. We don’t have to analyse them, fix them, or push through them as if something’s gone wrong. Not every day is meant to be productive, positive, or full of energy. Some days are just slower. Heavier. A bit more inward. And maybe instead of fighting that, we’re better off allowing it. Resting when we need to. Taking things more gently. Lowering expectations for the day instead of trying to force ourselves into a version of productivity that just isn’t there.
Because these days pass. They always do. And often, they’re followed by days where things feel lighter again, where your energy comes back, and everything feels a bit more manageable. It’s all part of those cycles we talked about earlier on.
So if you’re feeling a bit grumpy today too… you’re not alone. And there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just having a day. And sometimes, that’s more than enough.
This is something I touch on in my book too — that idea of listening to yourself, honouring how you feel, and not forcing everything to be “fine” all the time. If that resonates, you can find it on Amazon and if you google The Enchanted Midlife by Suzy Turner, you will also find it on numerous other online bookstores.
