Standing in the Present, Looking Back at the Past, Moving Forward Without Fear
Where to Begin? How about at the beginning.
What does the word “Gloaming” mean? I’m so glad you asked.
According to Merriam Webster, gloaming is a noun that defines the twilight or dusk, the low light seen in the evening as the sun sets, referring to the period between sunset and dark.
Now that we all understand the meaning of the word, let’s talk about what it means to us.
I’m 60+ years old, semi-retired. Many people refer to the retirement years or the latter years of aging as the Golden Years, Silver Sneakers, Sunset time of life, etc.
I wanted a different word, something with a little glammer and glitter. So…Gloaming.
For those of you 60 years of age and older, have you ever wondered about what’s next?
Where does your career end and where does the rest of your life begin? “When is going to be my time?” or “our time?”
The year 2023 rolled around and I found myself turning 60 years old. My daughter and granddaughter were living with us at the time, and my husband was working from home for a local major healthcare organization.
Though working from home, his job was becoming more political, discriminating (ageism), and difficult. Tensions with upper management had been growing for some time, and his work had become unsustainable.
It became increasingly clear that something needed to change. Although I had been working from home, my income would not sustain us should he leave his 25-year job. We had been wanting to sell our house and move out of the area for several years and we decided now was the time to begin making changes toward that end.
January 2024, we put our home of 24 years up for sale and it sold the first week. February was my husband’s last month of his 25-year job. He retired a couple short weeks before we moved. By March, we had moved into a local short-stay hotel until our rental townhouse was finished. My daughter and her child moved into a place of their own.
May and June were spent moving and settling into our new townhouse, once again, empty nesters.
All of a sudden, there we were. Neither of us with an income to speak of. Home, together. Married 42 years at that time, we were used to being together. We were comfortable and content, but there seemed to be a quiet, a silence in the house that carried all the weight of the past and emptiness of the future.
We began to discover what other “retirees” who had entered that time before us, had probably already discovered.
There was so much we didn’t expect. Things we didn’t know. Questions that didn’t seem to have any answers.
Yes, we had talked about what we wanted to do in our future, but we had been so busy with family, businesses, and stuff, that we hadn’t given enough time and attention to the future. Of course, we thought, we’ll have time to think and plan later. We’re too busy right now.
But retirement for my husband came sooner than we had anticipated, and it seemed all of a sudden we had arrived at a dead stop. Somewhere we had never been before, or ever expected to be.
Our finances were okay, but we weren’t where we had always thought we would be. We always meant to plan for retirement, but somehow it seemed such a long way off and there seemed to be plenty of time.
Now, retirement had arrived, and we weren’t entirely ready. Ugh.
When your job has been your primary purpose in life, aside from children, it doesn’t seem necessary to think about what your purpose will be following your retirement.
Though our three children and their families live in the same town as we do, they have their own lives. Some friends and former co-workers are busy and still working at their jobs or businesses. Some are taking the trips they’ve always wanted to take.
Day after day, grew into a mind-numbing quiet. Life seemed to me to be stopped, over. Money would eventually run out and I needed to do something for income. I lacked purpose. I lacked energy. I lacked motivation.
Along with other health issues, Seasonal Affective Disorder has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Add that to everything else; I felt lost and alone.
Meditation and prayer helped. Standing in the present, I began looking back at the past, trying to find a way I could move forward into the future without fear. Something I could do to bring joy, excitement, and purpose back into my life.
One day, I stumbled across some notes on blogging. I hadn’t ever really seriously considered becoming a blogger. I thought that was something the younger generations did.
However, my interest in beginning a blog started growing and I began doing some research. As a writer, I started to ask the questions… What niche could I write in? What do people want to know? What questions do they have that I could help with?
One day, the phrase, “Living in the Gloaming” came to mind and it stuck.
Since that day, I have been working steadily toward launching this blog, “Living in the Gloaming.” I have learned A LOT of new things. But that’s how we keep our mind sharp, right?
It is my hope that people over the age of 60 will find this blog a place to ask questions, make connections with others in similar situations, or age groups.
A place where we can journey together into the “great unknown” and discover new and exciting adventures.
I may not have all the answers to all the questions, but I am confident we can discover solutions and support each other as we travel the Gloaming Years together.
So, let’s …
Stand in the Present, Look Back at the Past, and Move Forward into the Future Without Fear.
Until next time, all the best to you!
Charlene 🙂
P.S. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]
