“It’s never too late to follow your passion.” Anne Howorth Growing up in the North of England, I was surrounded by the glorious sound of the village brass band. Sunday afternoon concerts in the park, Sunday morning hymns at church, and brass concerts in the town’s...
As my parents aged, they stubbornly tried to maintain their autonomy while my siblings and I stubbornly tried to control their lives. It became dangerous for them to drive so we pleaded with them to give up their drivers’ licenses. Next, it became unsafe to go for...
I was traveling in my mid-20s when a friend and I stopped for lunch. I ordered an iced tea. It tasted profoundly like dish soap. I confided in the person I was lunching with and she said, “send it back”. I couldn’t imagine it! “I just won’t drink it,” I said. My...
I’ve come from a long family history of musicians. My maternal grandmother was a professional violinist, piano teacher, and church music director for Southern Baptists in Arkansas. My mother was a keyboardist and organist in the church where I grew up. My father was a...
I was 60 years old when I was first diagnosed with osteoporosis after my first DXA scan, a low-dose, Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry scan to assess bone density and predict the risk of fractures. It was an unpleasant—and not uncommon—surprise. Like many women of my...
The poet Jane Hirshfield wrote the words: A day is vast. Until noon. Then it’s over. As a morning person, the words rang true for me. I am one who wakes up early with anticipation of the possibilities that the day can hold. But by two in the afternoon, the excitement...
When my husband Don and I met in 1966 at the University of Kansas, it would have been hard to predict the passion for worldwide travel that has dominated our lives. Early indicators were not particularly aligned. Don grew up in a small rural farming town in western...
I guess it’s never too late, for any of it. After pulling up roots and criss-crossing the country, after health issues, loss, and heartbreak, my life is full to brimming again. I’m centered again. And though I didn’t really envision myself doing this again, here I am...
Have you ever dreamed so big, so clear, so exciting, only to sabotage yourself the moment you started? Enter the usual suspects: resistance, procrastination, and self-doubt claiming their seat at the table, smirking as if daring you to make them leave. I know this...
It took 32 years for me to make my dream of publishing a children’s picture book a reality. I had dreamed of publishing a children’s book since our children were toddlers, reading bath books and board books. I was always especially enamored with picture books,...
I believe that dynamic aging means challenging myself and my assumptions, changing and growing. The alternative is passively accepting a story of decline and disempowerment. I moved from passively accepting my decline to changing and growing at the age of 53. In late...
As I approached my 75th birthday one year ago, I started feeling ill at ease in the home I had loved for over 16 years. When I purchased it at 59, I’d wanted a large garden, a driveway and attached garage, plus a guest bedroom and second bath. But now, in some vague...