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Stage of Life® is a free blog about Empty Nest and Retirement.  Get involved with our mission:  Share a life experience about your empty nest experience or retirement planning, explore our retirement and empty nest resources, or save money with our printable coupons and coupon codes selected for Baby Boomers.  Whether you're a retiree (or soon-to-be retiree) or "Empty Nester" - we look forward to reading your essays about and helping you save money during the empty nest and retirement years.

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Empty Nest & Retirement Stories

Letter to Mom: A Thousand Thanks

Written by: Miriam, on 05/09/2013
“Go read your books; someday you will be a teacher. I don’t want you be a pot-walloper like me, your mama.” Your words must have come from the eight year old child who, arriving in America, was put to work in a cigar factory, stripping stems out of the leaves. When you told us your job, we teased you--“Our mother was a stripper!”You always demeaned yourself, though you were the finest baker, the best cook, the creator of dresses for me and suits for my three brothers. You k...

1965 vs. 2013

Written by: bugcandy, on 04/25/2013
I received a fun little comparison between 1965 and 2013 and wanted to share it with the Stage of Life community. If you're a Baby Boomer, you may get a kick out of this (or it'll depress you!)...1965: Long hair 2013: Longing for hair 1965: KEG 2013: EKG 1965: Acid rock 2013: Acid reflux 1965: Moving to California because it's cool2013: Moving to Arizona because it's warm 1965: Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor2013: Trying NOT to l...

Widowhood for Dummies

Written by: Miriam, on 04/17/2013
"These don’t match," said the Social Security clerk, comparing my birth certificate and my SS application, unamused at my response, "I wasn't born married."Sometimes, I feel that is the case because life as I knew it is over. Now I belong to that vast sisterhood of unemployed ladies, dismissed from careers as wives, lovers, caregivers and caretakers. To keep busy, we are consummate volunteers, competent babysitters, and advice-givers to teenagers and young marrieds. We play...

Figuring Life Out

Written by: SamanthaBise, on 03/30/2013
Empty nest and retirement is something that has never crossed my mind. I don’t have a “nest” to be emptied, and I have yet to begin my career.I’m only twenty-two years old. Ask any person in their early to mid-twenties, and I bet they are less than stable. It’s the age of the quarter-life crisis! It exists, I swear! Wikipedia says that it can last until our early-thirties. We know so much, yet we don’t have a clue what’s going on. If most twenty-something year olds are like...

Really??

Written by: Suzanne, on 03/22/2013
I received a renewal notice for my Driver's License about two weeks ago and finally got around to taking care of it yesterday. My procrastination was brought on by a pre-determination that it was going to be terribly inconvenient. And it was. But not because the office was inefficient or that the lines were unbearably long - it was inconvenient because I failed to read my renewal notice carefully. The last time I renewed my license, all I had to do was surrender the old...

"One Star"

Written by: Googie, on 03/11/2013
Recently, as my brother was taking his turn keeping vigil at our dad's bedside, the two of them relived many a coon hunt of his boyhood nights gone by. That's when he thought of a question he had always wanted to ask."It was so dark out there in the woods," he mused. "How did you always know exactly where we were?"The faintest smile flickered across Dad's face as he held up a weak forefinger and answered, barely above a whisper, "One star."Later, my brother shared thi...

After the Dragon

Written by: linda.l.anderson, on 03/09/2013
Dragons, it seems, are the ultimate evil. In fairy tales, when the hero slays the dragon, he is considered the bravest of the brave, he wins the treasure and the adulation of the townspeople, they throw a parade and he marries the princess. The dragon is his final obstacle between Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After.If my life were a fairy tale, my dragon would be $100,000 in unsecured consumer debt.Over 25 years of married life, Downtown Dad and I fully own the fact...

Aging and Alcohol

Written by: Suzanne, on 03/06/2013
Our neighborhood is not classified as a "retirement community," but it does have a higher than average number of retired couples living among the "still working folks." The community lures the newly retired with a variety of home choices ranging from condos to estate homes and with its proximity to fishing, golf, tennis, culture and great healthcare facilities. It has an active social climate that invites neighbors to participate weekly in both organized and private events...

What Will It Be Like?

Written by: Kwweesten, on 03/04/2013
She announced to the class that this would be her last year teaching as her face graced us with a smile. You could see the relief wash over her mind as a weight was lifted, as the words crossed over her lips and reality sank in.My favorite professor leaving, after decades of putting up with tests, papers, excuses, and every other drama she dealt with outside of the classroom. I never experienced it firsthand, but I could imagine how stressful her job could be. I never asked...

DIY CPR

Written by: linda.l.anderson, on 02/21/2013
We were finally going to do it.After eight years of making do with the threadbare, dog and kid stained, lifeless green carpet (picked out by the previous owners) in our bedroom, Downtown Dad and I decided it was time to do something nice for ourselves for once, and replace it!But – replacing flooring is never JUST the flooring. Pffft! If you replace the flooring, you MUST paint the walls, and if you paint the walls, you HAVE to repaint the ceiling, and once you’ve changed...

Around the World in 80 Emails

Written by: Miriam, on 02/11/2013
Granddaughter Elishe introduced me to Facebook, thus opening the email portal with former high school students, friends and relatives. The latest round of emails began with Elishe, announcing a pregnancy and describing the parent-teacher conferences in the school where she teaches in Jerusalem. Then an email from Nephew Lee, the talented composer in Brooklyn, giving me access to his 7000 picture gallery and editing my family tree. An email from Cousin Chuck in California....

Retirement with No Money Saved

Written by: kenby, on 01/20/2013
What happens when you turn 55 years old, and have no money for retirement? Simple arithmetic shows you that it is impossible to save enough for a decent retirement with so little time left in your working career. But wait, the fear and misery gets worse. What if you are too old for the job market and find yourself jobless to boot? And to further compound the hopelessness, there is household debt to service. The author of "55 and Scared Sh*tless" found himself in that exact si...

The Reason for Bond Reasoning

Written by: martyt, on 01/18/2013
“I’m buying a bond because I don’t want to lose any of my principal!” Not great reasoning or logic and not exactly accurate. An investor buys bonds (or bond funds) for many reasons but their investment objective(s) must drive that decision. The two primary reasons to invest in bonds (also called fixed income securities) are diversification and/or steady income. Although investment portfolios normally include a fixed income component, if either of these are not your investm...

My Thoughts on Newtown: Where DO We Go From Here?

Written by: pammlofton, on 01/12/2013
In September, I started teaching at the elementary school my four daughters attended when they were growing up. The opportunity presented itself and, being an empty nester with time on my hands, I jumped right on it. I have to say that, even before the most recent event, the thought of some psycho walking into the school with a gun had a place in the back of my mind. Following the Newtown incident, the thought has taken more of an up-front position. I also have to say that I...

Stage of Life needs help taking storytelling mobile!

Written by: Nate DeRose, on 12/11/2012
Hello All,Stage of Life is proud to announce its latest endeavor - the development of the first mobile storytelling game! For the last three months, we have been putting our creative efforts into drafting Writing Race, a multiplayer story writing game for Apple iPhone where friends will collaboratively (or competitively) write a story together using their mobile phone.Our idea to expand Stage of Life’s literacy initiative to the mobile realm began as some scribbling on a...

A Woman Votes

Written by: Miriam, on 12/01/2012
2012 is a year to remember. The 113th Congress we elected will include more women than ever before, including women of all races and sexual orientation.New Hampshire made a clean sweep with its female governor and all-female house delegation, joining its incumbent female senators. There were also many women taking state and local offices. One of the most interesting presidential candidates was Jill Stein, of the Green Party. Hardly noticed in the Obama-Romney fracas, her ...

Anything Could Happen

Written by: jccmedi8, on 11/14/2012
From: Frontage Road to Zen: The Retirement Chronicleshttp://zen-road-retirement.blogspot.com/The methodology (if you can even call it that) I’ve been using to discover what comes next is: Web-researching/reading/social media about things that interest me. Getting out there...following a trail...seeing what develops. I’m planning to do this until something gets traction. So this weekend I went to a number of Tucson Modernism Week events. I used to wear, when I was ...

A New Chapter: Surviving Retirement

Written by: Maddy Olson, on 10/30/2012
A New Chapter: Surviving RetirementByMaddy Olson blogs on a variety of subjects that are deep topics and can change lives. Writing for Brookdale assisted living is a very rewarding passion she enjoys. Several losses in her family to Alzheimer’s Disease has prompted her write about the topics she has researched or practiced.Some dread retirement, some look forward to it. There are ways to enjoy these later years, it just takes a ...

Alternative to Adult Diapers: Helping the Environment, Your Wallet and Your Pride

Written by: Ruth, on 10/29/2012
As one of the Stage of Life Editors keeping an eye out for products and services that can be of assistance to Baby Boomers, I came across the company Wearever. With more Boomers taking care of their aging parents, not to mention aging themselves, the often taboo topic of incontinence is something not everyone is comfortable talking about.Because of that, we asked Wearever to share their thoughts about this issue in the hopes that it'll help those of you dealing with it, eit...

(Not) Writing from the Road

Written by: jccmedi8, on 10/23/2012
More from http://zen-road-retirement.blogspot.com/writen after an 11-day road trip.I had little connection to electronics while on the road – just a quick email check here and there. I really wanted it all to just … be … unfold … flow. And it pretty much did. Reaching the last days, I still had a need to get back, driven by different considerations than when I was working (meaning I needed to get back for the Bonnie Raitt concert and some other things). But the ex...

Closing the Door

Written by: jccmedi8, on 10/21/2012
Here is a very short story about my last days at work from my blog: Frontage Road to Zenhttp://zen-road-retirement.blogspot.com/Two final days of work (yes, I actually had things to do - many "case briefings" to write, lots of odds and ends, and organizing some files to pass on...almost the usual multi-tasking, detail-oriented brain jam that was much of the previous twelve years). Two co-workers took me out to a lovely lunch yesterday and two brought me flowers today....

Frontage Road to Zen: The Retirement Chronicles

Written by: jccmedi8, on 10/20/2012
I have lots of stories on my blog:Frontage Road to Zen: The Retirement Chronicleshttp://zen-road-retirement.blogspot.com/I hope you enjoy!Joan C....

Last Ensemble

Written by: erminerose, on 10/16/2012
by Ermine Cunningham I called Mom Monday morning with the bad news. “Mom, Cousin Carmella’s obituary is in the paper.” “Oh, poor Carm,” she replied. “She’s been sick a long time.” “Calling hours are tomorrow. I’ll pick you up and we’ll go together?” “OK,” she answered. “Just remember when I go, I don’t want any calling hours. If they can’t come see you when you’re alive, why bother when you’re laid out? It’s not right.” “I ...

Should I sell my Pension for cash?

Written by: AlanR, on 10/08/2012
There is no doubt that many people have felt the full force of the financial downturn. Recession is a word which has been around for quite some time, and with it, the unfortunate implications that have in some cases literally decimated the lives of families. From a purely financial standpoint, it is at times like these that it is important to take a moment to review available options when considering the financial situation and not make any rash decisions. In terms of f...

America's Retirees: Vote the Issues, Not the Party Line

Written by: Klinek, on 10/05/2012
"America's Retirees: Vote the Issues, Not the Party Line", a new two and a half minute online video animation from ProtectSeniors.Org, highlights voting for federal candidates who support retiree economic issues.We urge you to have a look (by clicking on the title of the video above) and forward it to fellow retirees to encourage them to join in the fight to protect our earned retiree healthcare benefits!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKc0yljaoWg&feature=plcp...

Starting a new life in a new place in retirement

Written by: Susan Forest, on 10/04/2012
I moved to Germany this year with my husband when he took retirement .Ive been a "house wife "come part time jewellery making teacher for the past 20 years so I didn't know how i would feel having company around all day but It is fun most of the time .We are finding out so much about starting a new life in a new place that we don't have time to sit still .I have just started a blog about our life here to let folk know there is life beyond work .I would love to here from other...

Retired and Realistic

Written by: Suzanne, on 09/11/2012
As retirees, we have to be realistic about changes in our body while striving to maintain good physical health. Sports that we used to play with ease are now more difficult or even out of the question. Weaker muscles strain more easily, reaction time and fluid movement is inhibited, and our proficiency is diminished. That does not necessarily mean that it is time to throw in the towel – we might just need to adjust to a new normal. I have played competitive club tennis...

Redefining the Nest

Written by: pammlofton, on 09/06/2012
Do you ever dare yourself to do things? I remember the first thing I had to dare myself to do when the nest became empty was to figure out who exactly I was now that the lovelies were all grown up. It may sound a little crazy, but I really did have to define myself in this new role. Maybe redefine is a better way to say it.The kids still need us from time to time when they leave the nest. Especially if they leave to go to college. I mean, who else is going to fill out FAF...

And Gladly Teach

Written by: Miriam, on 08/31/2012
September 1941, a few months before Pearl Harbor and WWII, I was the new 8th grade Social Studies teacher assigned to a school that was a make-shift solution to overcrowding. In a reciprocal agreement between a local parish in need of funds and a school system in need of space, the city rented the middle floor of a parochial academy. Supposedly temporary, this arrangement lasted for two decades. The building was comfortable, with wonderful cross-ventilation, ideal for captu...

Music from Oslo

Written by: Miriam, on 08/28/2012
Reading the newspaper article about Anders Breivik, the right-wing assassin responsible for an attack unparalleled in Norway’s history, I think of the chain of events which brought him to my mind.“It could have been us,” wrote Lee Brooks, my dear talented nephew, musical director of the annual Oslo Freedom Forum. The forum, supported by world leaders, Amnesty International, the Nobel Peace Center, the University of Oslo and others--business, political and cultural leaders...

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