A blond, a brunette, and a redhead walk into a bar…
We all have those friends. Friends we’ve known for decades. Friends we’ve been “in the trenches” with – through huge triumphs and unspeakable tragedies. We speak the same language. Collectively, we’re smarter, funnier, and more creative than we are alone.
And when we’re together, magic happens.
That’s exactly how it is for Candace, Mo, and Liz.
So there we were. Liz was in town, and we were hanging out and catching up in person over–believe it or not–double shots of lemon ginger kombucha on the rocks. The conversation soon turned to aging – the classes and focus groups Candace was leading on aging and attitude; Liz’s excitement and trepidation about her approaching retirement; and Mo’s reinvention of herself as a children’s writer.
We were waist-deep in new territory, exploring it fully. Candace looked 10 years younger as she shared her burning passion about the difference attitude makes. And we wondered: Was this what being “over-the-hill” looked like? Had we just not noticed how terrible it all was? You see, we were rather enjoying the view from the hill.
Where was the data that supported the point of view that aging wasn’t a downward slope? When you slog through the morass of available opinions on declining health and quality of life, not to mention the cultural norms and assumptions about aging, you’d think life was over after 60. But that wasn’t our experience.
Candace started to share data – data that supports our experience that life isn’t over. And in fact, in Candace’s experience “life begins at 70.” And voila, Mo, the youngest, was suddenly looking forward to 70.
“We really have something to offer,” Liz said. “I think we should create a platform where we can explore this new world of aging together. And we can bring others along.” Boom! Magic!
We raised our glasses high and toasted to the Love of Aging.
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Liz Dietz is a founder/principal of the Love of Aging movement, along with her good friends and colleagues Candace Shivers and Maureen Charles. Liz has spent the last 35 years devoting herself to the professional goal of transforming higher education through technology..... read more... |
Candace Shivers is a founder/principal of the Love of Aging movement, along with her good friends and colleagues, Maureen Charles and Liz Dietz. At the age of 65, following the death of her husband, Candace reinvented herself, launching her current career .....read more... |
Maureen Charles is a founder/principal of the Love of Aging movement, along with her good friends and colleagues, Liz Dietz and Candace Shivers. A lifelong educator, writer, and leadership trainer, Maureen brings extensive experience in community leadership ... read more... |
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Ed Lopez, PhD, Love of Aging’s Science Editor, is a retired organizational psychologist, university instructor and researcher. His research has been presented at international conferences and published in a peer reviewed journal. Ed is also a decorated Army veteran who served in Vietnam.