I spent most of yesterday cleaning the backyard. I pulled weeds, gently removed dried leaves from new growth and scrubbed the patio and garden furniture.

My friend Jenny emailed me this quote, “Calamity is a great teacher”. She knows how much I appreciate a great quote to start off a piece of writing.

The alarm clock goes off at 6 am every morning. My husband turns it off, then rolls over and curves his body around mine.

“Enough with all your spiritual platitudes”, I read on Instagram, “if you knew how difficult our lives were right now you would realize that your posts are causing me pain and anger rather than giving me relief and support”.

Imagine, you are struggling with depression and you have a friend who comes over every day and all he does is sit in silence with you and massages your feet.

Tucker is recovering from surgery. The vet removed a cancerous tumor that had appeared quite suddenly on his back leg, scraping deep and wide to excise all the cancer cells.

I doubt my husband has even boarded his flight yet and already the sheets are spinning in the washing machine and the duvet is airing on the balcony – all in readiness of having the bed to myself for a whole week!

A frosty, sunny morning and, as my husband had a week’s holidays, we decided we had the time to drive to a neighbourhood we are considering for our retirement years.

I have been fluctuating lately with how I feel at the start of this aging journey. For the most part I feel contentment and curiosity – comfortable with my body, confident in my wisdom and excited by the opportunities ahead.

I’m working less these days so I try to be mindful of my spending. On my morning walks with the dog I gift myself a weekly oat milk latte at my local coffee shop.

I stood on the cusp of 60 and felt old. My mind was still sharp, my body was still fit but I felt like I was looking at the end of the road! I could not fathom what I would do for the next 10, 20, 30 years….

The great poet, Mary Oliver, died this year. Lines from her poems and essays can be found scattered around my home…

A colleague of mine has started writing a memoir of moments from her life that have shaped the woman she has become. A friend’s husband has recently self-published a murder mystery…

The sun is beginning its ascent on this west coast morning and I have gifted myself the luxury of a lazy morning in bed – reading, writing and beginning this new blog adventure…