Almost every story I’ve heard of a Gen X woman pulling herself out of a midlife crisis has involved, in one way or another, the letting go of expectations. That’s been the most important part of my own reckoning: When I start criticizing myself for not having saved enough money or for not having written enough of value or for my son’s bad handwriting, or for not working out or for any other failures small and large, I try to put my finger on the expectation that any of these things would be different.
