I love this article! Chris Colin of The New York Times interviewed a woman, who at 68, learned to swim and now, four years later, is a daily lap swimmer. This is a great reminder for any of us who tell ourselves that we’re too old to try something new. Is there something you’ve been putting off because fear gets in the way? Is there a new sport or hobby you’ve been drawn to but you think it’s too late to try? Read this interview for some inspiration . . .
The Trick to Life is to Keep Moving, by Devi Lockwood, The New York Times
I’m a pack rat when it comes to articles and essays that are interesting to me and relevant to what I teach. I wanted to post something uplifting, not about the pandemic, anxiety or grief. The other day I came across “The Trick to Life is to Keep Moving” which I’d saved from 2019. When I re-read the piece I remembered why I saved this. It’s a wonderful piece about “seeking friends beyond the generational divide.”
How to Transition to Online Teaching: Ten Tips by Debbie Leaman
A few months ago, Zoom was foreign to me and I rarely used Skype and FaceTime. Virtual teaching was something I’d occasionally thought about but dismissed it as too cumbersome or impersonal. Really, I’m a technophobe. Then the pandemic hit and virtual classrooms sprung up everywhere. The only way to teach was online.
Settling in for the Long Haul by Debbie Leaman
While I vacillate between stretches of calm and momentary bursts of panic, it’s taken an earthquake in Salt Lake City, on top of a global pandemic to wake me up. The message for me now, more than ever, is to be “in the moment.”
While the earthquake put us all on edge (understatement of the year), it was a huge lesson: I can’t predict what’s going to happen today, tomorrow or a month from now. With a few aftershocks fresh in my mind, I can’t predict what’s going to happen five minutes from now. I need to just remember to breathe and remain in the present moment.
Online Dating For Seniors by Karen Hayes
At age seventy, I signed up with a matchmaking website for seniors. If you haven’t tried online dating (and it was all new to me), the first hurdle for a woman ‘over a certain age’ is to get past the idea that meeting someone online is too much of a fringe thing, and that goes against everything our generation was warned about.
But if you decide to give it a try, here are some things to consider. First, you’ll need a ‘handle’ for your profile. Remember the days of truckers on their CB radios using nicknames like GoodBuddy and RubberDuck? ’ Well, a dating site is like that. So how do you choose a name for yourself that gets attention without being . . . what? . . . too coy, as in Needaknight? Too suggestive, like Sweet&Low? Too anything?
Why Does No One Ever Tell You How Brilliant Ageing Can Be? By Suzanne Moore
Grandparenting 101 by Holly Webster
Going to Gran’s and Granddaddy’s house was both an outing ripe for exploration and cause for an eight-year-old to yawn and fidget. My time see-sawed between my clandestine attic and basement explorations looking for treasures and mind-numbing, endless adult conversations. But Gran and Granddaddy adored me, chuckling often at my antics and grabbing me for a squeeze. As I cartwheeled through the living room, Gran was always reminding me to be a little lady. “Ugh. Little Lady? How boring,” I protested.
Writing Prompt #6 What Are You Curious About?
What are you curious about?
As we get older, we have a wonderful opportunity to open up ourselves to our own curiosity. Creating more space and expansiveness in our lives allows us to figure out our priorities and listen to that inner voice, that quiet but persistent whisper that wants to try something new — perhaps research Egyptian history, travel to Bangkok or Baton Rouge, learn how to make pastry dough or play the piano, volunteer with immigrants or run for political office. Whatever it is, you owe it to yourself to stop and listen.
Fishing Without a Hook By Lynn Decker
Boxing up the last odds and ends of my work life, I sorted thirty-four years of books, papers, talismans and stuff among a few boxes and the overflowing recycling bin. I reached for one particular talisman, a button pin – Fishing for Solutions. Faded from years of exposure to finger oils and sunlight – it was smooth and perfect, nice in the hand to finger and flip while thinking. Given the handling and the dozen office moves during my career, I am not sure how it survived. It both reminded and inspired me – of the chase, chance and opportunity that every day and every challenge presented. I’d been working the last 14 years in fire and forest conservation across the U.S. The wicked fire challenges for people and our forests was both a passion and compulsion – and now it was over for me.
Strands of Loss – Strands of Grief – Strands of Gratitude by Madeleine Sigman-Grant
Writing Prompt #3
My Shadow Selves by Karen Hayes
Grab a pen - here's a writing prompt!
In order to your get creative aging juices flowing, I'm going to offer writing prompts from time to time. These are questions to get you thinking about yourself in different ways. So, grab your writing tool of choice (laptop, pen, pencil, paper), find a comfortable spot to sit and put your critical voice on hold. In fact, tell your inner critic to leave the room.
Remembering Mom by Cathy Love
Maybe I Need a New Mirror by Joan Ogden
Wuff on a Porch Swing by Bill Funk
Honey, I'm Home . . . A Lot! By Debbie Leaman
Years ago, I left an investment career to become a freelance writer. During the day, when my husband Howard was at work and our two kids went off to school, our house was my domain. I worked at my desk in a common area off the kitchen where sunlight poured in through large windows—a luxurious and quiet space where I wrote without distractions and answered to no one. It was perfect.
And, then, last summer, Howard retired.
Retirement: Diving into Danger by Howard Leaman
“What are you doing with your time, now that you’ve retired?” That was the question the Ski School Director asked me during our pre-season ski instructor orientation. My answer to him was not even close to adequate, especially when I realized that many of my friends have been wondering that very thing for themselves. What I’ve been doing is not so much a “list,” as much as a continuing process of calibration.
Initially, thinking about going from a busy medical practice to “retired,” I'd developed a sense of impending dread. Would I become useless, cranky and senile? Would my health deteriorate? Would I “fail retirement,” and become depressed with nothing to do, and have to go back to work?
No— I’d prove my continued vitality.
Walking with a Good Stick by Renee Daines
Creative Aging Blog - a forum to share our stories!
For years I've resisted setting up a blog. I'm a deliberate writer, so feeding a blog when I'm not inspired or don't have time isn't something I felt comfortable with. But, about a year ago, when I was preparing my Creative Aging writing workshops, I scoured the web for personal essays on aging and I came up short. I couldn't find any sites for these types of pieces. And that got me thinking . . .