Inspiration

Last month I was a regular granny in Clapham Common Park in London, pushing my grandson in the infant swing – all I could see was his smiling eyes. Nothing else in the world mattered. I am 73 and had just arrived in London to celebrate my only grandchild’s first birthday and my son’s first Father’s Day…

How is your July going? I always feel like summer is almost gone or at least zooms faster once the fourth of July comes and goes. And here we are again! This feels like an especially busy month for us as all of our adult children (all four of them) are either having a new baby this month (that makes 12 grands for us!)…

A woman shared something with me recently that I suspect many women quietly feel. She smiled and said, “I spent most of my life taking care of everyone else. Now that it’s finally my turn, I don’t quite know how.” Her words stayed with me. Not because they were unusual. Because they were so familiar…

This article is not perfect. I hope it’s good, interesting, informative, and maybe even a little thought-provoking, but it’s not perfect. And that’s a great thing. Because for most of my life, I was a consummate perfectionist. Had I written this article even 10 years ago, I would have rewritten it three times, edited it 10, changed it entirely, and then asked other people’s opinions to make sure it was okay…

By the time most of us reach our 60s, we’ve gotten very good at letting go of things we’re told to let go of. We’ve let go of unrealistic expectations about our adult children’s choices. We’ve let go of relationships that no longer serve us. We’ve let go of the exhausting belief that we have to hold every family crisis together with our own two hands…

Does aging enhance or diminish our resilience? The dictionary definition of resilience goes something like this: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness; the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape…

A few years ago, my writing partner, Lillie Evans, and I were notified that our full-length play script, Grandmothers, Incorporated won a playwriting competition. Our work was selected from over 600 submissions from 33 countries. Nobody could tell us that we weren’t hot stuff. We were ecstatic, on top of the world. We were also reluctant…

Personal growth is great and is something that I want to continue doing for the rest of my life. I mean, who wants to become stagnant and stop growing? Have you heard the saying, ‘use it or lose it’? Well, that isn’t just geared towards our muscles; it’s also true of our wonderful brains. Just like our physical muscles, our mindset requires conscious practice to maintain and grow…

I want to ask you something that might be a little uncomfortable. When did you last ask yourself what you actually want? Not what your children need. Not what your grandchildren would enjoy. Not what would make the holidays easier or the family gathering run more smoothly or the situation with your adult…

Every morning, before I get out of bed and while I do my hip flexor stretches, I think about my day. It helps me focus on what I have to look forward to. Maybe it’s lunch with a friend, a different walking route to try, or even a new episode of a favourite series. I do this every morning. It helps me get up with a smile. I feel positive about the day ahead, even when there is nothing…