summer solstice

There’s a meme about how old you are when you realized things.  I just realized that the astrological summer season starts on the longest daylight hour day of the year, which means summer days are all about fading daylight hours. Before this I always equated summer with long daylight hours, when in fact spring has … Continue reading summer solstice

Practicing Positivity in my Retirement Years – a Reflection

In my retirement transition journey, I’ve explored the area of positive psychology in a number of different ways.  First, early on in my retirement, I intentionally tried to shift from being a critical, cynical pessimist to a more positive person.  I had a boss once say to me, ”You’ll never be happy”.  I really wanted … Continue reading Practicing Positivity in my Retirement Years – a Reflection

Forgiveness and Boundaries – Easier Said Than Done

During my grieving journey, I have been struggling with forgiveness.  I have also had a few instances where others have triggered my insecurities, resulting in me not managing my anger effectively.  Am I forgiving myself?  Forgiving others?  Setting appropriate boundaries?  A recent discussion made me realize I needed to better understand forgiveness and setting boundaries. … Continue reading Forgiveness and Boundaries – Easier Said Than Done

Inner Critic versus Inner Child

In my last blog post (link here), I mentioned going down the rabbit hole on anger management.  Well, the rabbit hole continued deeper and led to podcasts on the Inner Critic (critical voice), which led to reading more on the Inner Child (wounded child).  I hadn't really separated out in my mind these two different … Continue reading Inner Critic versus Inner Child

Tarot Exploration and Overthinking

I took an intriguing on-line class learning more about Tarot. (A link to Susannah Conway’s course called 78 Mirrors here)  I’m definitely a beginner in Tarot, and so my AHA’s from this course are all in the beginner’s area.  For example, I was surprised to learn that there are 3 main “systems” of Tarot, and … Continue reading Tarot Exploration and Overthinking

Learning to Let it Go

In early January, I started crafting a blog post about letting go. Messages were coming at me from many different sources about letting go of what can’t be changed and accepting what is. To acknowledge pain, sadness, or anger, but also to let them go. It's fascinating to me when messages you need to hear … Continue reading Learning to Let it Go

A Look Back on 2022 Blog Posts

I was intrigued by some other bloggers looking back on their year of posting and decided to follow suit. I was looking for some insights for myself, to see how far I’ve come in my own retirement journey, and maybe for some inspiration to keep blogging, And completing this review gave me a feeling of … Continue reading A Look Back on 2022 Blog Posts

Rocky Start to 2023

It’s been a rocky start to the year. I’ve tried to keep my blog “real” and talk the good, the bad, and the ugly about Retirement Transitions.  I wrote (blog link here) about some of the challenges I’m facing in my mom’s 500-mile move to an Assisted Living facility near me.  This blog talks about … Continue reading Rocky Start to 2023

Life is Full of Transitions

And retirement life is no different in having major life transitions. Some transitions are planned, some are unexpected, and some planned but have a lot of uncertainty still involved. Beyond the transition of leaving a full-time career, other life transitions in my own retirement years included starting and ending a consulting “second career”, dealing with … Continue reading Life is Full of Transitions

Becoming a Butterfly?

I find the analogy of a flower and butterfly a fun way of thinking about engagement at a gathering/party.   For many years, I was in awe of the butterfly personality at social gatherings.  They flit from flower (person) to flower (person), seem to know everyone, and look like they are really enjoy the gathering. … Continue reading Becoming a Butterfly?