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Sunset Years

Making the later years the best ever!

TAKE A WALK

April 2, 2018

To empathize: walk in my shoes. To be authentic: walk your talk. To behave boldly: walk on the wild side. To reminisce: walk down memory lane. To promote wellness: take a walk. Walking doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. Low Intensity Steady State cardio (LISS) is indisputably good for us. LISS involves elevating your heart […]

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Filed Under: Happiness, Well-being Tagged: tips

TO LOVE AND TO LIKE

March 18, 2018

“To love and to cherish, till death do us part” is a traditional wedding vow that many couples utter. But what do we make of this promise after our marriage has progressed through the years? Divorce, not death, often parts couples. According to Statistics Canada, about 38% of all marriages now end in divorce, slightly […]

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Filed Under: Happiness, Retirement issues, Well-being Tagged: tips

DIVISION OF DUTIES

February 14, 2018

When I entered our Vancouver condo, home alone for a few days, I  heard a chirping sound every 90 seconds. It didn’t take long for me to realize the hallway smoke detector needed a new battery. Okay. But that domestic duty belongs to Glen who, at 2,500 km away, wasn’t able to perform it. I […]

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Filed Under: Retirement issues, Well-being Tagged: rituals, tips

DEATH DEFINED ME

February 1, 2018

Today marks the 47th anniversary of my first grave encounter with death. In the fall of 1970 my best friend Ingrid and I embarked in a camper van we bought used in Edmonton for $1,200 on an adventure across the U.S., from the Pacific coast to Key West in Florida. On our return in the […]

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Filed Under: Well-being Tagged: tips

THE RIGHT LOCATION

December 1, 2017

We realize being grateful for ordinary things and events in life contributes in a profound way to happiness. And I try regularly to feel — and express — gratitude. At this time of year, it’s easy for Glen and me to feel grateful for our second home in Arizona. Just when grey skies and near […]

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Filed Under: Happiness, Real estate, Retirement issues, Well-being Tagged: boomers, rituals, tips

VOUCHING FOR VOLUNTEERING

November 12, 2017

Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.” When I retired in 2014, the prospect of limitless leisure did not appeal to me. I knew I would need to add something new to my life to gain pleasure, purpose and pride. Volunteering came to mind. While browsing a website for volunteers, I […]

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Filed Under: Happiness, Retirement issues, Well-being Tagged: rituals, tips

PET PROJECT

October 22, 2017

A dog has occupied a prime position in Glen’s and my life together ever since we met decades ago. In the early years a border collie mix named Jude gave us pleasure and occasionally distress when he disappeared following the scent of another dog, likely a female in heat. Thankfully his strong instincts also brought […]

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Filed Under: Happiness, Retirement issues, Well-being Tagged: tips

WISDOM WASTED?

October 1, 2017

If youth is wasted on the young — an observation widely attributed to George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) — then wisdom is wasted on the old. During our lives we experience innumerable events, good and bad, listen to or witness the trials and achievements of family and friends, read hundreds (thousands) of books and newspapers, watch […]

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Filed Under: Happiness, Well-being Tagged: tips

TIME PERCEPTION

August 27, 2017

We pass time. Kill time. Waste time. Fill time. Lose time. Time flies. Time stands still. How do we perceive time? Time perception refers to our subjective experience of the passage of time, or our perceived duration of events. Unlike our senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch – time cannot be perceived directly. Our brain […]

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FUN FACTS FRIDAYS: VARIA

August 4, 2017

The dozen facts in this second post of the FFF series come compliments of readers Glen and Ian, as well as an entertaining website and elsewhere. The age difference between President Trump and his wife, Melania, is 24 years, the same as that of President Macron of France and his wife, Brigitte Trogneux, his senior by two […]

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Filed Under: FUN FACTS FRIDAYS, Well-being

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Welcome to Pam McPhail's blog about the sunset years, a metaphor for the stage in life when we're no longer fully occupied in the workplace or at home. We’re free to set our own agendas. Together let's explore how to make these years our best ever.
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