Mid Century Modern

PC @iamjensrb

I’m obsessed with mid-century modern architecture. My dream house is a mid-century modern ranch, the more original, the better. Give me the wallpaper, the colorful appliances, dark wood paneling, the more outrageous, the better . . . I might even rake the carpet.

I recently went to see my chiropractor and it was a crazy experience as his office had moved to my pediatrician’s office.

Not my child’s pediatrician (I don’t have any), my pediatrician . . . or should I say my former pediatrician as I’m not like Ross Gellar who continued to see his pediatrician as an adult.

The office is in a one story mid-century modern brick building. I remember the turquoise and orange decor and lots and lots of fish tanks. It was always crowded and the magazine racks were filled with Highlights for Children which I devoured. Once inside, I was disappointed to see it had gotten a complete face lift. And, of course it wasn’t as big as my memories.

The crazy part about this is—it still smelled the same.

How after all these years and probably more than one redo and reconfiguration, could it possibly smell the same? It smelled of tongue depressors and rubbing alcohol.

I told the receptionist I had come to this building as a child and I loved mid-century modern and I’d move into this office building if I could. She laughed, agreed and admitted,

“I like to tell people I’m ‘mid-century modern.’”

This delighted me. And, then a couple days later I found my new friend is not alone in her thinking. Check out this quote from Jamie Lee Curtis:

"The same way that mid-century modern architecture was in the '50s, I want to be as a human being. New. Different. Challenging the old. Function over frivolity. Clean living. Clean lines.”

So what does this all mean to me? Let me break it down word by word (or phrase by phrase) . . .

New. I have to keep asking myself, “How am I evolving? What am I learning about the world and about myself? I recently learned Big Foot may be real . . . Not real in this time and space, but real a really, really, really long time ago. You can read more about if you Google: “How Gigantopithecus Became Extinct.” Admittedly, this is somewhat useless information, but in other ways, it makes you stand in awe of all you don’t or will never know. On a practical note, it could pep up a boring dinner party conversation. I also learned about a research study that reversed human biological age by 2.5 years! You can read about that here. The implications are mind blowing.

What new things am I learning about myself? I have finally put words to what I’ve known for a long time. My brain is full and unless I keep reorganizing myself, it’s easy for me to feel overwhelm. I thought my reorganization was procrastination. What I’ve realized is that it’s a progression technique to keep me moving forward when the details are flying hard and fast.

On another note, if I’m going to sleep, I need more than an hour of exercise a day. In addition, I thought for years that I lacked discipline as my exercise habits were sporadic. What I’ve recently learned is that I wasn’t listening to my body. I was pushing too hard when I needed to rest. And, I’m easily bored. If I’m dreading the routine, it’s time to find something new to mix it up so I stay engaged.


Different. Am I doing anything different than I was doing 10 years ago? 5 years ago? A year ago? Oh dear—let’s hope so! I’m trying to trust myself more. I’m letting others in and making these relationships a priority. My health is at the forefront. Self care isn’t a luxury or a platitude. I realize I’m not going to live forever, so how do I take care of this temple? How do I love this body if this is the best it gets? I practice lovingkindness to myself and try to extend it to everyone.

Challenging the old. This feels very similar to “different.” For me, I think this is best understood as “what old habits or ideas am I challenging?” I’m more aware of the world I live in and my impact in it—from what I buy to what I eat, to waste in all of its forms. Then there are the bigger things like all the injustices and their effects on all of our people and how my voice matters and can make difference. I’m trying to speak up more and advocate when and where I can.

I try to practice giving everyone the benefit of the doubt—believe the best about everybody. I pray to have a non-dualistic mind. As Fr. Richard Rohr says:

“Our ability to read reality in a way that is not judgmental, in a way that is not exclusionary of the part that we don’t understand. When you don’t split everything up according to what you like and what you don’t like, you leave the moment open, you let it be what it is in itself, and you let it speak to you. Reality is not totally one, but it is not totally two, either! Stay with that necessary dilemma, and it can make you wise.”

I’ll leave that right there—it’s a lot to absorb.

Function over frivolity. I am my father’s daughter. Thus, I think I’ve always sought function over frivolity. Why buy napkins when you can use paper towels? (Easy answer—because your guests will judge you.) Why have fancy glassware when mason jars keep your drinks ice cold, store everything from your salad greens to your homemade bone broth to your leftovers? And, they show off fresh flowers beautifully. How much time have you wasted finding matching socks? Buy as many of the same socks as you can—if they’re all the same, they always match.

Clean living. This means a lot less caffeine and a lot more (filtered) water. More herbal tea. All the green juices. Big salads. Fewer processed foods. Walking daily, recycling, upcycling, less plastic, replacing the cleaning and beauty products, swallowing the supplements (even though they often make me choke!).

Clean lines. I’m not sure what this means to Jamie Lee. Hard angled bangs? (Been there, done that. No thanks.) For me it’s a metaphorical application. Clean lines means *cleaning up my space. I have an abbreviation I use on my to do lists. EIIP . . . Everything In Its Place . . . it’s a work in progress and I’m never quite there. The bed is made. I aim to keep my work space clear no matter how much paperwork is involved. Seeing a clean kitchen countertop in the morning thrills me. These small things have a remarkable impact on our energy and productivity. These small habits can make room for big ideas and even bigger lives.

Thank you Jamie Lee and the movement for all of the insight and inspiration. Mid-century modern. The colors, the design—it was (and still is) clean and happy and quirky and sometimes a bit whimsical. I’d like to think that describes me.

PS—*If you’re aiming to clean up your life (in every area) and would like a blueprint, check out this link here. If you don’t want to do it alone, contact me and we can do it together.