Tag: Nearing Retirement

  • She Said, “I Bought a Ticket to Thailand.” So I Did Too.

    She Said, “I Bought a Ticket to Thailand.” So I Did Too.

    My younger self would have made a spreadsheet.

    How much would this cost?

    How many vacation days would I have left?

    Shouldn’t I wait until retirement?

    Could I really justify this?

    Current me?

    Apparently, I just buy the ticket.

    The Shift

    A few years ago I read Die With Zero. One idea from the book completely changed how I think about life.

    The author argues that our sixties are our Go Years.

    Our seventies become our Slow-Go Years.

    And eventually, our eighties become our No-Go Years.

    Whether or not you agree with every point, one idea hit me square between the eyes:

    We spend our whole lives saving money for a future that may not allow us to enjoy the experiences we were saving for.

    That landed differently for me.

    My mom died at 61.

    There are no guarantees that someday will arrive exactly the way we imagine it.

    Just Buy the Ticket

    So when my daughter casually mentioned she had bought a ticket to Thailand, I said something that surprised even me.

    “That sounds fun.”

    And then I bought a ticket to Thailand.

    A few minutes later I texted my cousin in New York.

    “I’ve done something crazy.”

    She texted back almost immediately.

    “That’s not crazy.”

    Then she bought a ticket too.

    Just like that, three women each two decades apart were headed halfway around the world together.

    What I love most isn’t that we went to Thailand.

    It’s that none of us let age become the deciding factor.

    No one said, “Maybe someday.”

    No one waited for the perfect time.

    No one overanalyzed it.

    We simply said yes.

    The trip gave us incredible memories.

    Beautiful beaches.

    Amazing food.

    A few adventures that looked much easier on Instagram.

    And enough laughter to last a lifetime.

    The Best Investment

    Looking back, I don’t remember what the airfare cost.

    I remember the conversations.

    The sunsets.

    The photos.

    The feeling of realizing that life doesn’t always reward careful planning.

    Sometimes it rewards courage.

    That’s become one of my biggest lessons entering this chapter of life.

    I’m still saving.

    I’m still planning.

    But I’m no longer postponing every meaningful experience for a future version of myself.

    Because maybe the best investment isn’t another number in a retirement account.

    Maybe it’s buying the ticket while your knees still work, your curiosity is alive, and the people you love can still say yes.

    The Seasoned Silver Tsunami isn’t about traveling the world.

    It’s about refusing to let your best years become your someday years.

    Sometimes “boldly going” starts with nothing more than four simple words.

    “That sounds fun.”

    Even in Thailand we bought shoes 🙂

    Don’t spend your Go Years planning for your No-Go Years.

  • Have you ever judged a tennis match before the first serve?

    Have you ever judged a tennis match before the first serve?

    Why I’m in search of wheels!

    The first time I played in a tennis league, I made a rookie mistake. I looked across the net and sized up my competition.

    One woman had a knee brace. Another had an elbow brace. I glanced at my partner and thought, We’ve got this. We did not.

    Those women didn’t overpower us. They didn’t chase down every ball.

    They simply placed every shot exactly where we weren’t.

    Drop shot.

    Lob.

    Angle.

    Repeat.

    By the end of the match, I had developed a healthy respect for knee braces. In fact, I became convinced the more orthopedic equipment someone wore, the better they played.

    Fast forward a couple of decades.

    Now I’m the one walking onto the court with a few more birthdays under my visor.

    Fortunately, I don’t need the braces…yet.

    But I can still see it sometimes.

    The quick glance from across the net.

    The subtle look that says, This should be an easy match.

    Here’s the funny part.

    I never became one of those women with laser-precise shots that never seemed to miss. Instead, I figured out something even more important.

    I found Wheels.

    Wheels, and a win!

    Every doubles player needs a partner who can run down absolutely everything. Mine usually happens to be about thirty years younger than I am.

    When a ball sails just out of my reach, I don’t panic.

    I simply yell, “Wheels!“

    They sprint.

    I cheer.

    We win a surprising number of points.

    I’ve learned that getting older isn’t about pretending you can still cover every inch of the court by yourself.

    It’s about knowing your strengths, appreciating someone else’s, and enjoying the game a whole lot more because of it.

    Those women had precision.

    I have Wheels.

    Maybe that’s what getting older really looks like.

    Not doing it the same way.

    Just finding a way that works for you.

    And if you’re lucky their nickname is Wheels.

    Turns out the knee brace wasn’t the handicap. It was the warning label.

  • The Best Chapter is Still Ahead

    The Best Chapter is Still Ahead

    For most of my career, I’ve helped organizations tell their stories, build meaningful partnerships, and connect people around a shared purpose.

    I’ve always believed the best ideas are the ones that bring people together.

    I loved that work. I still do.

    But somewhere along the way, I realized something.

    I wasn’t running out of ideas. If anything, I had more perspective, more experience, and more passion than ever before. I still loved solving problems, learning new things, and creating something from nothing. Yet I couldn’t help but notice that, as we get older, experience is often valued less than what’s new.

    And I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling it.

    So many friends are in this same season of life. We’ve built careers. Raised families. Celebrated successes. Weathered disappointments. We have decades of experience behind us and still feel like we have so much ahead of us.

    The question isn’t whether we’re getting older.

    It’s what we’re going to do with everything we’ve learned.

    Because the truth is, none of us feel like we’re winding down.

    We’re playing tennis, pickleball, and Mahjong. We’re traveling. Volunteering. Learning new technology. Joining book clubs. Trying new hobbies. Starting businesses. Mentoring others. Reinventing ourselves. Saying yes to opportunities we never had time for before.

    We’re still growing.

    Learning to podcast

    Turns out, “Live Forward” sometimes looks awkward.

    That realization became the spark for The Seasoned Silver Tsunami.

    This project brings together so many things I’ve always loved storytelling, marketing, connecting people, learning, and building something with purpose. It’s also pushed me well outside my comfort zone. I’ve learned about websites, video production, podcasting, social media, and all the technology that comes with creating something from scratch.

    Some days it’s exciting.

    Some days it’s humbling.

    Most days it’s both.

    But every step reminds me that growth doesn’t have an expiration date.

    The phrase silver tsunami is often used to describe millions of people leaving the workforce. It focuses on what society thinks we’re leaving behind.

    I see something entirely different.

    I see millions of people entering a season with the confidence to stop living by someone else’s timeline. A season where experience becomes an advantage, curiosity replaces fear, and purpose doesn’t end with a job title.

    That’s the movement I want to celebrate.

    Not anti-aging.

    (Although, full disclosure…if the next miracle cream pops up in my feed, there’s a pretty good chance I’m clicking “Add to Cart.”)

    Not looking backward.

    Not believing our best years are behind us.

    But embracing everything we still have to offer and everything we’re still becoming.

    I hope this becomes more than a website.

    I hope it becomes a place where we share stories, discover new ideas, recommend books, encourage one another, and remind each other that this chapter of life is still full of possibility.

    Maybe it’s conversations with remarkable people. Maybe it’s travel recommendations, or readers sharing their own journeys. I’m not entirely sure where this adventure will lead, and I think that’s part of the fun.

    What I do know is this:

    Some of the best stories have never been written alone.

    They’ve been built through connection, shared experiences, and the courage to begin.

    If you’re here, maybe you’ve been asking yourself what’s next.

    Maybe you’re thinking about a new career, your next adventure, improving your health, building deeper friendships, rediscovering your style, learning a new hobby, or finally making time for something you’ve always wanted to do.

    Wherever you are in your journey, I hope you’ll find encouragement, practical ideas, and stories that remind you of one simple truth:

    Your best chapter can still be ahead. 

    In fact, it might just be the one you’re about to write.

    Welcome to The Seasoned Silver Tsunami.

    I’m so glad you’re here.

    Let’s Live Forward–together.