The Mom Weekly Volume 48: July 2, 2024
A couple of months ago, when I actually could go hiking (sniff!), I was on a group hike with a collection of friends who are all women “of a certain age.”
Someone brought up how we want to be pleasant people to be around, even once we are older (than we are now—we are not young, and okay with that!), and perhaps troubled by various physical or other problems.
I dubbed it “Old Lady Goals” which is actually pretty genius, if you ask me.
Here are a few we came up with:
- *be kind and friendly
- *try not to ascribe the worst motives to people’s actions
- *avoid being cranky for no reason
- *get together with people regularly
- *maintain a good/active prayer life
- *always be reading
- *be good at getting rid of things
There were definitely more, but these are the only ones I captured on my phone’s Notes app, and I can’t remember the others. But it’s an interesting thought experiment.
What do you think of this list? What would you add?
As an update on this: the last month and more, I have been relying on others for driving and grocery shopping and so many other things. I find being agreeable and low-maintenance is also an important skill, older or not. I’m not sure if everyone would agree I’ve been low-maintenance, but I have been trying!
Remember how much I love you,
Mom
Interesting/notable
Why weightlifting is so important as we age–The Washington Post
Super important, and a reminder to me to make this a part of my recovery.
What Does Retirement Really Mean?–NY Times
I love this article so, so much! Such a range of things that people do when they are close to or in retirement.
Slightly related: Several months ago, when Dad & I were speaking with a CFP with Dad’s 401(k) from work, and trying to get the right amount of taxes taken out of distributions, he asked us a lot of questions about our goals, etc. I explained our thinking about distributions and taxes. At one point, he stopped the conversation to tell Dad, “Well, your wife knows a whole lot, and you are in very good hands.” That gave me a boost of confidence about my self-education in the last decade or so, and made Dad more comfortable with our planning.
Coincidentally, about the same time, I found out about this designation—
Retirement Income Certified Professional
I’m thinking about doing the coursework for this, not necessarily to work in this field, because to use the designation, one has to have three years’ financial planning experience. Instead, This could be helpful to use in our own financial planning, since we are in that stage of life!
An action item: Enjoy the Beach and Cousin Time
Self-explanatory!
What are you doing this weekend?
So, now that it’s Tuesday, what are you planning for the weekend? I’m going to suggest trying to cover four “F”s to get ideas flowing:
*faith—when are you going to Mass?
*friends—what friends will you see or connect with?
*food—any fun recipes you plan to try, or restaurants you plan to visit?
*fun—anything interesting you are going to play, watch, or do this weekend? Now’s the time to think it through, and put it on the calendar (even informally).