Finding Happiness

It took me quite some time to pluck up the courage and try internet dating after my husband died. At first, even the thought of it was horrifying, and my first visit to a dating site ended after just a minute or so. But as time passed…

I used to think changing my mind meant I’d made the wrong decision. Now I think it often means I know something I didn’t know when I made the decision. There was a time when I was much more inclined to stick with things. Once I’d decided something, especially if I’d told others, changing it felt uncomfortable…

Have you experienced a time after turning 60 when you felt lonely, unloved, undervalued, or unsexy? If so, you are not alone. Even those who are perceived as beautiful, sexy, and successful often feel lonely, unloved, undervalued, or unsexy. They just do a better job at hiding it than others. If external validation and lofty achievements…

I broke up with my therapist recently. That sounds a bit dramatic. What I mean is that I ended a formal relationship with a talk therapist I’d been seeing fairly regularly over the past few years. And, like all break-ups – I felt incredibly sad afterwards…

I recently finished reading The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. It is an unusual novel because the story unfolds through letters, emails and other correspondence. While reading it, I began wondering whether I was still carrying regrets or punishing myself for decisions I made years, perhaps even decades, ago…

Somewhere around 60, a strange thing happens: the world stops asking what you’re going to be when you grow up, and quietly assumes you’ve already decided. Nobody checks in anymore. Nobody hands you a manual for this stretch the way they handed you baby books and parenting blogs for the first one…

Have you ever spent a night in fitful sleep, had disturbing dreams or just awakened at 3 am with a mind so active you had to take a sleeping pill? Or are those just redundant questions? As I’ve gotten older, now in my mid 70s, I’ve noticed that it’s darn…

Old Grumble McMutter met Miss Fussy McFrown, Who polished each pebble and straightened each town. He huffed at her humming. She frowned at his shoes. They argued on Tuesdays… and most Wednesdays, too…

Many women in their 60s have experienced decades of caregiving, responsibility, and emotional labor. Some are still care-giving for parents or grandchildren, even after their own children have left the nest. A good portion decide to trade full-time employment for a less demanding schedule or even choose to take the plunge directly into full-time retirement…

The other morning, as I sat down to breakfast – a fresh cup of coffee, an almond cranberry scone topped with yogurt and homemade peach preserves – I realized that this simple pleasure had not happened by accident. The word that came to mind was discipline. I hadn’t particularly wanted to bake scones the evening before, nor had I been eager…