The new year - and while I'm still six-oh, this is the time to begin a blog called Singular Sixties.Quite amazed the name hadn't been taken - as I read that the fastest growing sector for divorce is amongst this age group. More and more of us are also living single lives - I hesitate to call it alone, as that word gets interchanged with lonely - and it seems to me that there can be more loneliness in some partnerships. Personally, I'm widowed - and still hugely miss my wonderful husband David; we'd been together for 35 years. Lucky me that I'd found a true soul-mate and the relationship was just getting better as we began to relinquish responsibilities (although I don't want to romanticise...there was still a good bit of quibbling!).
It's been about 2 1/2 years without him now and I'm just on the way to recovery. Having left home for art college at 19, had a serious boyfriend for 3 years, moved back home to my parents' house whilst job-hunting then meeting David at 23 and marrying at just 24 - I've hardly had a singular time.

So, this is about the singular experience I'm learning to have in my sixties.
Some days it's a matter of just getting up and going through the motions...but I've found it's best when I face the bad stuff head on and also resist my natural desire to keep self-same head below the parapet...However, I'm not going to beat myself up for not DOING all the time. I think boredom is very underrated; it's the cradle of invention, I reckon.

So, I hope this isn't going to be a very worthy blog about my 'journey' - I'll do my best to lighten up!

A single Red Bird amidst some rather beautiful ivy and prickly holly;

 original screen-print/collage by me.