Welcome, I’m Mary Louisa Locke, the author of the USA Today best-selling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series and the Caelestis Science Fiction series. In this daily newsletter, I reflect on my life as an indie author trying to age gracefully, including my struggles to maintain a balanced life, what I listen to, read, and watch for entertainment, and occasional bits of information I’ve gleaned from doing the research for my novels.
Daily Diary, Day 1277:
Brief Check-in: Yesterday, I did my noon meeting, combined an unscheduled phone call with my afternoon walk, and wrote up a scene through dictation. I didn’t worry about punctuation, just spoke, and in a short amount of time, actually got 1000 words written. I don’t know how many will still be there when I edit it, but it did feel good to get the basic thoughts down. I also did some editing on another section I wrote weeks ago, to get ready for the chapter I plan on starting tomorrow, and that went well. I can’t say anything improved in the area of my health, knuckle still aches, eyelid if anything more swollen and painful, so this morning I emailed my ophthalmologist about getting an oral antibiotic to take. I also have cleaned, paid taxes, and filled out my mail-in primary election ballot, and soon will take my morning walk.
And now, for my recommendations!
My first recommendation today is for a newsletter called Too Old For this Shit, by Julia Hubbard, who is 71 and a travel writer. A lot of her posts are about her various traveling adventures, so if you’re someone like me who would rather read about travel than actually do it, you might find it interesting. But what struck me about this particular post I am linking to was the good job she did in analyzing all the kinds of advice that are currently being given to those of us who are aging on how to do it, “right,” hence the name of the post You and I are Too old to Buy the Bullshi*t About Aging. Despite the title, it really is a thoughtful piece on ageism, and how we can get fooled into internalizing it.
The second newsletter post is Redefining what a Crone is, which, as you may imagine, is also about aging, and in this case, trying to deal with some of the negative stereotypes and turning them on their head. This comes from Cindy O’dell, who writes the newsletter Aging, not necessarily gracefully.
Finally, a third post I am recommending is in the newsletter Oldster, which I have recommended several times. The title of this particular piece by Elle Griffin is entitled I Don’t Want to Grow Up. Again, a post that looks at aging and also one that is rebelling against the expectations and stricture about what aging should look and feel like. I think many of you will find this piece very thought provoking.
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Wow, a leap year birthday that must have been interesting over the years. When somebody asked me how I'm doing and I find myself starting to complain I often then stop and will at least say to myself. "Well, it's better than the alternative" because the truth of the matter is just for today. in that moment most of my days are wonderful and I am glad I am alive.