In Praise of Older Romance One of the reasons I write romances with protagonists in their sixties is to debunk the myth that the older we grow the less alive we are. I understand this presumption because when I was in my twenties—back when I knew everything with a certainty real life has since erased—I was sure that people in their sixties had already lived their best years and were headed downhill. Like, they’d raised
The Fear of Freedom Defining Our Goals in Later Life We spend much of our adult lives racing around like chickens with their heads cut off. Sadly, the entry of most women into full-time employment, which happened in our lifetimes, did not mean that spouses took on half the unpaid toil of keeping house and raising children. Plus the greater supply of labor in the workforce led to lower real wages across the board. Soon
Becoming a Cool Grandma On a sunny morning last Thanksgiving, my grandchildren and their cousins were getting restless. And who could blame them? They’d discovered the kid-sized buckets and shovels hidden in a closet, the beach beckoned, and their parents were busy chatting and preparing food. Looking for an adult to accompany them, our eldest grandson finally implored, “Can Mimi take us?” He knows I’m always up for an adventure. So after I secured buy-in
The Magical Power of Life Review December is a busy yet contemplative time. We are down to the essentials. Outside our windows the branches are bare, while inside the house, the packages are shipped and the cupboards empty as we ready for holiday travel. The New Year is upon us with chances for new resolutions, new activism, new growth. Soon will come the perfect time to reflect on our lives. Our sixties and beyond are
Getting Through the Tough Times with a Trip to Evergreen I don’t know if it’s possible to break the dashboard of a Mini Cooper, but I gave it a good try. The day after the 2024 Presidential election I was disappointed and stressed about the future. I was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car, parked at the grocery store and pounding on the touch screen of the radio. All the stations were set
The Unfettered Joy of Trying Something New Here in the Interregnum, we don’t know where we are going and aren’t sure how we got here. That makes it tough to decide how to spend our time. Cycling through all five stages of grief at intervals is tempting, along with survivalist planning. Maybe self-care makes it onto the post-election list. Maybe even creativity. I hope so; the personal truly is political, and our creativity will continue
