BLOGGING MIDLIFE

I grew up in New York and spent most of my adult life outside Washington, D.C. If you had asked me where I’d find the most opportunities, the most entertainment, and the fullest life, I would have pointed to those places without hesitation. But it turns out that small town life in Sweden offers an even bigger life than I ever expected.

When you have endless options,...

The shame placed on women for aging is both disgusting and frustrating. People have targeted me with nasty comments on social media and in person…punished me for being in my late fifties. Most of those attacks have come from middle-aged men. Society does not permit women to age gracefully.

And yet, my

Once I became an empty nester, I found that I enjoyed cooking. This surprised me. I never learned how to cook much beyond a couple of recipes my mother made when I was growing up. Over the years, my neighbor taught me how to grill a ribeye and how to make a darn good rib roast. She’s a foodie, and I’ve learned a lot from her, but that was the extent of my repertoire.

I spent the last month in Sweden, not on vacation, but with my husband, who has taken a position back in his home country. I call this phase the bridge, the space between late career and retirement. This is ours to cross. Our new reality is made of these on-again, off-again stretches of separation. My heart now lives in two countries, split between the people I ...