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Category: Transitions

What is Beauty?

Posted on by Gale O'Brien

During the height of the global pandemic, I celebrated my 60th birthday. This was indeed a major milestone. In New Mexico, Salons were shut down, then reopened, then shut down again, and later reopened. All around me I saw women panicking about their beauty. How would they handle the grow out of gray hair, lack of perms and haircuts, and, worse, they so desperately needed their nails done. It was a crazy time for everyone. As I blew out my birthday candles, I realized that I had been coloring my hair for 32 years!!! OMG! For more than half my life, I had been applying toxic hair dye to my scalp every three weeks.

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Moving Ahead

Posted on by Candy Arrington

Emptying the house of its contents involved going through countless papers, knickknacks, boxes, closets, cabinets, and cubbyholes. Some decisions were easy; many others were not. How do you dispose of years of living, the lives of loved ones, and the mementos thereof?

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Retirement Identity Crisis

Posted on by Angie Thurman

Life is filled with transitions. If you lean into them, your life will be enriched if you embrace the adventure and move through the transitions. On the other hand, if you fail to embrace the changes and transitions, you might become bitter and feel useless.

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Teaching This Old Dog Some New Tricks

Posted on by Pam Paschall

My teacher kept telling me, “Stop thinking; just paint,” so I did. What came out of it was a very powerful painting that is still one of my favorites to this day. I titled it, Emerging/Disappearing?.

This was the beginning of a new direction in painting for me as I found that it gave me an outlet for all the emotions I had buried all my life. I have since sold many pieces and done commissions.

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Braces, Bifocals, and a Baby!

Posted on by Debbie Robbins

I reflected on the proclamation from the doctors who told me that I would never, ever, no matter what, be able to have a child, and that appeared to be the case for several years after major surgery to improve my prospects for motherhood failed. During that time, I truly gave in to God, found the strength to move on, and found ways to utilize my God given gifts and talents. As my girlfriends were becoming empty nesters and doting grandmas, I suddenly found that I would soon be in the throes of mid-life first time motherhood.

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