Guest Writers Blog

This blog was meant to be. I’m writing it on Veteran’s Day, at the mouth of Utah’s famous Cottonwood Canyons on the first day of the 2022 ski season, in a veteran-owned coffee shop that donates free coffee to troops all over the world.

I played soccer for the first time during third grade recess in Burlington, VT. My favorite teacher introduced me to the sport (he is still proud of this fact and yes, we are still in touch), and I never looked back. I played through high school on a boys’ team, stopped once I went to university, and began again at the age of 27. I am now 54 and a true “soccer mom,” a mom who plays soccer.

If you’re retired or looking forward to the time when you will be, you’ve probably said there are things you want to do “while I still have my health.” I’ve been retired for almost 12 years, and I’m still saying it. However, I recently learned that “We don’t know what we don’t know” can apply to the degree of physical health and stamina we still have, as well as to our mental abilities, especially when it comes to international travel.

There’s no shortage of positive thinking theories out there, but the one that has resonated with me comes from—no surprise—Brian Clark’s newsletter Further. In his July 6 newsletter, he writes “Positive beliefs can spark a placebo effect that helps us succeed. Conversely, negative beliefs and the accompanying thoughts can keep us “in our heads” and away from a state of optimal performance.”

Even before my husband passed away from Alzheimer’s 13 months ago, I vowed that I would be proactive in staying socially active for as long as I was physically and mentally able. I was aware that when a spouse dies, there are usually a plethora of invitations from friends and family members that can rather suddenly drop off after everyone has made at least one effort to get together, express their sympathy and see for themselves “how you are doing.”