The traditional symbol of a five-year anniversary is wood. In relating it to Sunset Years marking five years in January, I like to think wood represents robust roots and relationships with my readers, not wooden writing of my posts. The second anniversary post discussed the technical challenges in setting up my blog. I’m thankful to […]
THE POWER OF ONE THING
In this post guest writer Barbara Richardson reflects on her first 18 months of retirement. I retired in June 2019 after 35 years of a rewarding, thrilling, adventurous career. I thought a lot about it before I retired. A lot. Would I be bored, lose my self-identity, have financial worries without a paycheque, get depressed? […]
SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF SUNSET YEARS
Two years ago I went public with Sunsetyears.ca, after pursuing our son’s recommendation to combine my interests in writing and photography into a blog. Glen conceived the name to reflect the proposed content. I tackled the technology. It took me a few months to prepare the launch. I bought a domain name from Rebel.ca, subscribed […]
PICKLEBALL FOR ALL!
The worst thing about pickleball — reputedly the fastest growing sport in North America — is its name. It sounds childish. Rightly so. A trio of men initially devised the game to amuse their children, on a summer’s afternoon in 1965 on Bainbridge Island WA, a short ferry ride from Seattle. They named it after […]
GREY UNION OR GREY DIVORCE
Canadians continue to see a steady increase in life expectancy; between 1921 and 2017, men’s went from 58.8 to 79 years of age, women’s from 60.6 to 83 years. Concurrently, grey divorce is also on the rise. The longer we live, the more time we will spend with our life partners. Some couples don’t relish the […]
GRANDPARENTS: NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL
Marina and Andrew welcomed Elizabeth Katherine, a healthy 7 lb. 8 oz. sister to Henry and Charlie, into the world on August 15 at 8:40 a.m. EDT, making Glen and me grandparents for a third time. On this joyous occasion in Toronto, we were at home in Vancouver — because we don’t live in the […]
BACK TO SCHOOL
The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure to curiosity.” Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) We can fill the days of our sunset years in many ways, but going back to school rates near the top of my list of diversions. I don’t mean earning another degree, though many mature individuals do. I mean going to […]
TRAVELLING SOLO
Half the fun of travelling for me lies in the planning, but travelling solo means we cannot share the anticipation of adventure with anyone. The trip’s in our own head, from beginning to end. On the other hand, we can choose the destination and activities with no regard for another’s wishes. In retirement we may […]
LIBRARIES: A GO-TO PLACE
If we downsize in retirement, as Glen and I did, we need to adapt to small spaces. This process involves efficient furnishing, putting every square inch to maximum use. But it also means devising ways to spend time — and not always money — away from our home, to ensure our walls do not feel […]
FIRST AND LAST TIMES
We remember doing something for the first time. Firsts are milestones in our memories, the occasions when we get our driver’s licence, fly in an airplane, see awesome scenery — Banff National Park, the Grand Canyon or the Pacific Ocean (for landlocked Prairie people) — taste alcohol and, dare I say, have sex. But how often […]