Let the Journey begin!
February 20, 2019
I tried waiting until the perfect time to begin this blog, and days went by, then more days. There is no perfect time, there's only today. So today is launch day.
I am a 74 year old widow, in very good physical health and still grieving for my beloved husband who passed away in August 2018. The roots of this blog, however, began way before his unexpected passing. Fully retired from multiple careers, the last as an education consultant, children all grown and settled, what comes next. And from that very big short question my personal exploration began.
How do I take the years of wisdom I've acquired, the healthy body I've been careful to maintain, and ride (sometimes it's walking, sometimes maybe galloping) into the future as an active, relevant, contributing adult? And that's the challenging--to remain relevant, informed, interested and interesting, continuing to learn and be engaged.
Aging is like parenting, no one prepares you, there's no definitive manual addressing all the issues. And even if there were, it would probably be rescinded a few years out. Remember Dr. Spock and his parenting manual? My kids were raised on it. As a very young mother, living a thousand miles away from my parents when my son was born, I depended on Dr. Spock's rules for parenting. Imagine my dismay when years later he rescinded his advice, admitted although well-intentional he was totally wrong in so many ways. Per Dr. Spock, I let my infant son cry himself to sleep night after night in order to establish a routine schedule. When years later Spock said forcing a child to go to sleep crying set them up to distrust the world, I was devastated. Could I ever undo the harm already done? Probably not.
Thus, I most likely wouldn't trust, although I have been reading extensively, anyone who suggested they knew THE way to age wisely. We can share our learnings, but journeys will be individual, each taking a separate, though related path through this wonderful time of our lives.
On this blog I intend to be open and honest, to share what I'm learning through internal observations, external information, chats with friends, formal learning, and any other insight I gain along the way. And there will be detours, unexpected crashes, like the death of my best friend, my husband Stu, moving, traveling, opening to new and old friends. It's a journey.
Adrienne
February 20, 2019
I tried waiting until the perfect time to begin this blog, and days went by, then more days. There is no perfect time, there's only today. So today is launch day.
I am a 74 year old widow, in very good physical health and still grieving for my beloved husband who passed away in August 2018. The roots of this blog, however, began way before his unexpected passing. Fully retired from multiple careers, the last as an education consultant, children all grown and settled, what comes next. And from that very big short question my personal exploration began.
How do I take the years of wisdom I've acquired, the healthy body I've been careful to maintain, and ride (sometimes it's walking, sometimes maybe galloping) into the future as an active, relevant, contributing adult? And that's the challenging--to remain relevant, informed, interested and interesting, continuing to learn and be engaged.
Aging is like parenting, no one prepares you, there's no definitive manual addressing all the issues. And even if there were, it would probably be rescinded a few years out. Remember Dr. Spock and his parenting manual? My kids were raised on it. As a very young mother, living a thousand miles away from my parents when my son was born, I depended on Dr. Spock's rules for parenting. Imagine my dismay when years later he rescinded his advice, admitted although well-intentional he was totally wrong in so many ways. Per Dr. Spock, I let my infant son cry himself to sleep night after night in order to establish a routine schedule. When years later Spock said forcing a child to go to sleep crying set them up to distrust the world, I was devastated. Could I ever undo the harm already done? Probably not.
Thus, I most likely wouldn't trust, although I have been reading extensively, anyone who suggested they knew THE way to age wisely. We can share our learnings, but journeys will be individual, each taking a separate, though related path through this wonderful time of our lives.
On this blog I intend to be open and honest, to share what I'm learning through internal observations, external information, chats with friends, formal learning, and any other insight I gain along the way. And there will be detours, unexpected crashes, like the death of my best friend, my husband Stu, moving, traveling, opening to new and old friends. It's a journey.
Adrienne
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