Life After 60

Like most of us I’m sure my life has had many turning points  – one certainly was leaving home after college,  another my first job.  And then marriage,  and parenthood,  and that three ring circus as a working woman/wife/mother!

And then in my early 60s I retired after my long career as a high school librarian and my life took some unexpected and delightful new turns.

I was invited by a friend to join the board of a non-profit entitled Literacy for Incarcerated Teens / LIT.   She explained that LIT is an advocacy group that funds libraries,  as well as arts and literacy programming in juvenile detention centers in New York City.

I had worked with at-risk students in inner-city schools,  and celebrating the achievements of those kids who graduated and went on to college or good jobs was very rewarding.  (See The Diary of a Young Girl and Tanesha)

But despite all that we teachers and counsels did,  many students fell thru the cracks,  and I saw working with LIT as a way to help those kids.     (See Literacy for Incarcerated Teens)

Of course I still had time for more post-retirement projects,  and as a former librarian who prided herself on her organizing skills,  I founded Rooms for Improvement: Home Organizing for Town & Country.   Entering folks’ homes to help them organize and declutter their living spaces and their lives brought me unexpected rewards.    (See Second Career –  Home Organizer!)

And so life after 60 for me had several turning points,  I even planted a vegetable garden for the first time.  (See Wisdom in the Weeds)

And then in my 70s I took up a brand new sport.  (See Pickled!)

So don’t call me between 9:30 and 11:00 in the morning –  if it’s not raining I’ll be out on the court trying to keep my eye on the ball!

– Dana Susan Lehrman

Sleeping Arrangements 

What’s more fun than a new kitten?  (See ASPCA)

But they do require some serious training to show them who’s boss.   So the day we brought Jackie home from the ASPCA we read him the house rules –  don’t bite the hand that feeds you,  keep your paws off the house plants,  and sleep in your own little cat bed.

But came nightfall and the pitter-patter of four little feet on the quilt told me Jackie had his own ideas about the house rules.

For there I was stuck in the middle – my husband sleeping peacefully on one side,  and our new little pussycat settling himself in beside me on the other.

Sweet dreams,  sweet Jackie!

– Dana Susan Lehrman

We understood we were trespassing. But we figured that folks who lived in a region like this must do this all the time, right? Just drive up and take a quick dip?
Read More

She had been taken to the ER after attempting suicide, and would be in there for some days. Would we take care of her dog?
Read More