(From the Archives of Not Your Grandmother's 70, October 2018) What would you tell your younger self? Ah, the time machine question. I was recently challenged to write about what I would tell my younger self. Obviously: “Keep writing!” I wrote as a young girl. When...
From the September 2015 Archives Causes, campaigns, elections. Everyone has an opinion. Or do they? I am dismayed at the number of people who seem to be anti-having any opinions or at least think you should keep them to yourself. Stay quiet. Keep your opinions to...
Spiritual advisor, counselor, guru, therapist, resident philosopher, teacher – all terms for someone who gives you guidance mainly by listening without judgment, perhaps interjecting just the right words of wisdom. Many people pay for such advice, but most of us...
I have been reading recommendations that say it is not appropriate to compliment little girls on how pretty they are. I do it all the time. “Oh, you are so pretty.” We don’t say that to young boys. We might say they are cute, but we mean cute as children are...
(The picture above: Graduation from Western State University College of Law in Irvine, California. To my left is my son-in-law Doug Vavrick and to my right is my daughter Kathleen Quirk.) Funny, sometimes we experience what would be life-changing events, and we know...
How many New Year’s Eves has it been? I remember the year I said that I had no expectations of anything happening in the coming year. Funny, before the year was over, I was married. The one and only marriage I have ever had. While that may be a subject of future...
You ain’t never been blue; no, no, no You ain’t never been blue, Till you’ve had that mood indigo. That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes... You know what it is. The pits, the gloomies, down in the dumps. Rolled up in a ball on the bathroom floor. In...
I recently took a group tour abroad with what we politely call “mature” people. Most were couples, and something that stood out as unusual for such a group was that most women had different names than their husbands. I commented to one of the women that I found this...
The question for today: How to impart wisdom to those following behind without sounding like a know-it grumpy old person. I started this blog when I celebrated my 70th birthday. My challenge for the BIG birthday was a two-week trip down the Colorado River through the...
I have been reminiscing over past posts, and this one still rings true. It is amazing how life repeats itself. Here we go: Today I took a walk on the beach, hoping to find a solution to a problem I had been wrestling with. I found an answer, but it was not what I...
Do you ever have days when your life sucks? I don’t mean significant momentous tragic events like a health problem, serious relationship issues, or, God forbid, a car collision or other disaster. No, I mean just one of those days where you have what we may call the...
I hate it. Always have. I feel like the naïve young woman who got on a train and traveled solo across the country from Spokane, Washington, to Dallas, Texas. I had to navigate changing trains, ordering meals, and getting my luggage. But there was my handsome fiancé at...
I have a concert ticket. What is it I hope to see? I feel that I have seen all the concerts on my bucket list. One of my earliest was one I didn’t know was a big deal until much later in life. I wish I had paid more attention. I was in a tiny jazz club in Seattle. The...
We’ve all done it. Tip of the tongue. Huh? I know I know that word. You are telling a story, and suddenly the word stumps you. Oh my, is this the first sign of dementia? Let’s put you at ease right away. The good news? Tip of the Tongue happens to everyone,...
I was not an adventurous traveler until I turned 70 years old. My husband and I took road trips and visited national parks. I went on a group tour to China and walked the Great Wall—but that’s a story for another day, and I never considered it a great adventure. Well,...
I started this blog with the idea of offering inspiration. Everywhere I go, I am told I am inspiring. Perfect strangers tell me I am an inspiration. Is it because I went to law school at 50? That I built a successful solo law practice? Something I said? Some days I...
