Today’s post will be a short one. It’s a holiday and the grandkids are waiting to thump Grandpa at croquet. However, just to keep things interesting, I’m including a holiday homework assignment for you. Something I hope you’ll take me up on.
Did you notice the new sub-title at the top of the page? It now includes “thriving in our 60s & 70s.” It’s an idea that came to me in the wee hours a couple nights ago. That happens a lot. It’s why I keep a pad next to the bed. Without turning on the light I scribble my notes and hope I can read them in the morning. It’s become a necessary skill, since story ideas seem to arrive on their own schedule, not mine.
I woke the other morning to find ”Thriving at 60 and 70” spelled out in large letters, partially written on top of each other. What the heck was I to make of that? Like so many other great notions, this revelation and its context had been swallowed by my return to sleep. That’s happened to some of my very best ideas. At least I think they were. I can’t remember for sure.
Anyway, being the impulsive fellow I am, I tweaked my original note a bit and came up with a new sub-title. Please note, however, that it still reads---”a writer’s blog.” That’s because - 1) I write books, and 2) I’ve found the blogging format to be a good way for me to explore what I’ve written, and why. I have no interest in backing away from that.
Yet the main blog title---”October Years”---is intended to focus on our 60s and 70s, as my stories do. I happen to find it a fascinating time of life---for reason I’ve posted about before, and certainly will again. Hopefully, the time I spend on these posts will help make my stories more real and effective.
But now I’ve added “Thriving in our 60s & 70s,” and that has become a new kind of challenge. It’s one thing to sound authoritative about my own writing. Whether I did it well or not, I know what I intended to say better than anyone else.
But what makes me an expert on “thriving in our 60s and 70s”? Nothing. I meet the age criteria. But beyond my thoughts on the importance of relationships, and how they can make broken lives whole, what do I have to add to that conversation?
This is where your holiday homework assignment comes in. Sometime between now and next Monday I’d like your input, your response to my “thriving” questions. The Google tracking numbers tell me that at least a few dozen of you follow my posts on a reasonably regular basis. I appreciate that. But now it’s time for you to speak up. Tell me---what helps you thrive in your 60s and 70s? Or, if you’re not thriving, why not? I’m sure you have thoughts about that, and they’re probably better than mine.
If the “comments” section below is not your preferred way of communicating, then please email your thoughts to me at thetannerchronicles@gmail.com. I’d really like this “thriving” conversation to be a dialogue. After all, it is a very individual thing. No one person can provide all the answers. More than that, there are bound to be readers who would appreciate your input. I hope you’ll take a minute or two to add your ideas.
Now, enjoy your holiday. Happy Fourth of July.
As always, if you’re so inclined I’d appreciate your comments, posted below. Beyond that, if there are folks with whom you’d like to share this October Years post I hope you’ll pass it on. It’s an easy thing to do. Just click on the “M” at the bottom of this page to email the post, with the video, to any addresses you choose.
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