Old Woman Revisited

Looking back

Me and my mother. I’ve caught up to her now.

I’m looking back at one of my first Substack posts — liked by THREE people, which caused me SO much excitement. . .

Here’s what I said back then:

Wait. What? Who are you calling OLD? I thought it but I didn’t say it. The earnest younger person before me had asked an innocent question: “Do you ever go to the Senior Center?”

I squirmed a little trying to smile, remain calm. Ugh! Senior Center? I’m not old enough for that! I’m only fifty-five!

I got through that trauma. Today I can laugh at the indignation I felt back then. Today I can’t even see fifty-five in the rearview mirror.

Here’s what I thought my Substack would be:

OLD WOMAN, NEW LIFE? What’s this all about? Inspiration. Encouragement. Laughter. A feeling of “we’re in this together.” I have a lot to say—and you might too—about getting older. (Oops, a slip of the fingers and I just typed “golder.” What a lovely thought—to be getting “golder.”)

What you can expect: I’m sure there are young people who have the time, energy, and focus to post daily. I felt that way a couple decades ago when I had a running blog on my old website. Back then I was writing non-fiction (inspirational humor) and traveling as a keynote speaker/humorist. I left that career after taking care of my mother, to go back to school for a master’s in mental health counseling, and at sixty, started a new career as a psychotherapist.

And I shifted into writing mysteries. (Update: Four published so far. Whee!)

What I think about the future: I plan to continue with my (pretty much every) Monday posts, with some others tossed in there on other days. Maybe.

In 2025, I’d like to try more poetry, since I so enjoy reading other poets and writers on this site. Check them out:

Margaret Ann Silver

,

Paul Wittenberger

,

Jane Deegan

,

Kim Nelson

,

Daniel Henderson

,

Jennifer Schulz-Johnston

,

Michelle Rayburn

,

Weston Parker

,

Mike Speriosu

,

Carole Roseland

,

Nelly Bryce

,

Rod Bluhm

,

Frederick Fullerton

,

Jonathan Potter

,

X. P. Callahan

,

Fotini Masika

,

John Brown

,

rena

,

Jason McBride

and for simply delightful inspiration for sketching,

Sue Clancy

.

I also want to “return to funny.” I used to make people laugh for a living and my life has gotten way too serious lately. So I’ll be sharing more fun in the future.

As I said before: Thanks for reading and I’ll look forward to connecting again. I appreciate you and wish you a wonderful day! ❤️