Welcome to Seasoned You!
To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under Heaven...
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
-The Holy Bible (KJV) Ecclesiastes 3:1&4
I lost my husband of forty-one years to sarcoidosis, a disease that few people know much about. My beloved struggled through a year of fatigue, anemia, and other health issues, with doctors at the county hospital telling us he was doing just fine." When he died, I went through all the stages of grief, from anger and depression to acceptance, and I realized that our good times far outweighed the bad. So I turned to journaling, and the 800 pages I wrote in the last three years became my fifth book, Seasons: My Journey through Grief.
Before he died, we decided to move from Fort Worth to Houston to be near our sons and grandchildren. I realized I needed help now that his health was declining, and the children had the amazing ability to make him laugh. When he passed a few months later, I decided to follow through with our plan. The five-bedroom home we had shared with our boys was now too big and too empty, and there were reminders of him all over that sometimes dampened my spirit.. So I followed through with a plan to sell our home and relocate. This would grant me the fresh start I needed.
As I pondered my new beginning of life without my husband, I realized that many women my age needed a fresh start, whether it was due to losing a loved one to death or divorce, changing careers, or moving to another city. When I started writing after retiring from teaching, I developed a website and blogged about books and culture. After I moved to Houston, I expanded to freelance writing and added my consulting and editing services to www.rosefreelance.com. Many people, both men and women, feel that they have a book in them but they’re not sure where to start or confident about their writing ability. I knew that with my experience as an avid reader and the toughest English teacher in the school, I could help.
As I continued to network with other women, I found that as we approach retirement age, our lives evolve. We change jobs or stop working altogether. Health issues creep in and we need to alter our exercise and eating habits. Some of us become more involved with the raising of grandchildren, often relocating, like me, to be near them. Some of us miss male companionship and venture out to dating again, treading the waters very carefully. Whatever our circumstances, we all experience change, and we have to adapt to that change to find happiness.
So that’s what Seasoned You! is all about: changing direction in your sixties and beyond. I’ll be writing about everything from retirement to relocation, from anniversaries to becoming single again. I’ll bring in lifestyle pieces about hair, fashion, books, and hobbies that appeal to our age group. And while my target audience is women of retirement age, many younger women and men may find my articles helpful. As everybody knows, a great meal requires just the right seasoning, and women really can get better with age. With our experience and our wisdom, we have earned the right to be called “seasoned,” so welcome to Seasoned You!