The Joy is in the Journey

The Joy is in the Journey

At 63 years old, I retired and relocated from California to Oregon with my husband, who was soon to retire. This would be the city we both live in for the rest of our lives and we would be closer to our daughter. And then the COVID pandemic began in earnest. Our move...
Beating the Odds

Beating the Odds

I feel like I beat the odds when I hiked the Mist Trail up Vernal and Nevada Falls in Yosemite National Park May 20, 2022. The odds? I figured the odds were against me because of my age – 86. I had had a total right hip replacement in October 2020. And I had not...
A Dragon Boat Life

A Dragon Boat Life

In January of 2023, I will make 74 years young and my 10th year involved in the dragon boat community. But I wasn’t athletic until the age of 63. I was the oldest of eight kids growing up and I had a lot of responsibilities put on me, so playing sports was out of the...
God Laughed When He Put Us Together

God Laughed When He Put Us Together

Shortly before Thanksgiving, my dear 92-year-old husband died under hospice care in our home. Now I am looking in the rear view mirror at a relationship that started when I was 23 years old and Jim was 42 -– 19 years my senior –– he was already widely recognized as a...
Get Out of Your Head

Get Out of Your Head

In 1980, a devastating diagnosis changed my life –– for the better. I had a physically taxing job in the photocopy industry held by few women at the time, while struggling on the home front in an emotionally exhausting relationship.  When I found myself dropping...