I have worked with a number of women to help them enhance this chapter of their lives. Together, we have brainstormed custom lists and have cheered each other on as we try each new thing. Here are two of my favorites, a list of more things I want to try, and more suggestions for you of enjoyable things I tried before turning 50.
Hilary Olsen’s List of 50 After 50
- Cooking lessons in Italy
- Learned to let go of worries about money
- Had individual talks with my adult children to ensure no misunderstandings or resentments remain
- Facilitated more communication among family members
- Learned how to design and make floor cloths
- Took a trip with my ex-sister-in-law to Costa Rica
- Took up yoga
- Worked on nurturing friendships with other empty-nesters
- Joined a movie-going club
- Made a more concerted effort to say yes instead of no
- Sewed 18 pink “pussy hats” to support the National Women’s March
- Became an ESL tutor
- Visited ex-sister-in-law at her house near the bay
- Let go of resentments toward family members
- Took more advantage of things
- Allowed my friend to convince me to do an eyebrow makeover (and then returned to my regular brows)
- Adopted more kittens
- Edited a book
- Took piano lessons
- Used city bikes to get around Boston and other cities
- Started rewarding myself with professional therapeutic massages
- Joined a gym
- Wore more fashionable low-rise undies with my low-rise jeans
- Traveled alone to the U.K.
- Started writing newsletters about my cancer treatment to keep my loved ones up to date
- Joined a support group for women with cancer
- Did a zip line over the treetops, despite my fear
- Tried pot brownies (and promptly fell asleep)
- Wore my pajamas to take someone to the train station without caring about the reactions of others
- Celebrated my 50th birthday in the Caribbean with my three best friends
- Sold clothing on consignment websites
- Learned how to ask for help
- Came to terms with my body as it is, rather than wishing it were thinner
- Finishing my degree for myself, not for other people
- Visited Machu Picchu
- Learned to say what I want
- Gave myself permission to nap when tired
- Learned to accept compliments
- Learned to believe such compliments were true
- Let go of some of the worry about my children
- Took more long, luxurious bubble baths
- Hitchhiked!
- Did a woo-woo spiritual dance class that was outside my comfort zone
- Experimented with new recipes
- Took a tiny prop plane to an island
- Did some kayaking
- Enjoyed the simple pleasure of gardening
- Paid more attention to being grateful, especially for the wonderful doctors and nurses at Dana Farber
- Allowed myself to be adopted by a church group, even though I don’t believe in religion
- Learned to stay hopeful even when cancer lives in my body, and to make the most of each day that I have here
Sandy Thackston’s List of 60 After 60
- Learned how to be comfortable in solitude
- Caught myself in denial about certain things in my life and let myself see things clearly
- Learned to practice self-care
- Learned to address my codependence
- Did a sugar cleanse
- Took up painting again
- Got some painful but necessary dental work done that I had dreaded and put off for a long time
- Got myself back into the gym
- Got honest about painful things in my life
- Started working on my own problems instead of deflecting by focusing on other people’s problems
- Allowed myself to be pampered at a spa
- Started to get rid of stuff in my house that I no longer need
- Marched in the National Women’s March
- Campaigned for a presidential candidate I believe in
- Campaigned in another state for a presidential candidate
- Joined a women’s group to do what I can to combat the inequality and bigotry the current president espouses
- Sold things on Craigslist
- Coauthored an article about “Bethesda rednecks”
- Started a salon for the exchange of ideas
- Allowed other women to bear witness to my pain
- Gave up smoking
- Gave up vaping
- Wore “wing” eyeliner even though my daughter poked fun at me for doing so
- Successfully lost weight
- Visited the new National Museum for African American History and Culture
- Helped many women who are trying to get sober
- Helped my daughter learn how to do real estate closings
- House trained my dog
- Detached from people who are not serious about their sobriety
- Evaluated what I want my life to look like in five years and made changes necessary to make it that way
- Reclaimed my attic office that had become overstuffed with storage items
- Learned about LGBT issues by listening to my friends’ LGBT radio program
- Started gardening
- Became a confirmation sponsor
- Learned how to stay alone and not be afraid
- Finally realized that I deserve more
- Dealt with my sugar addiction
- Gave up soda
- Curtailed my buying habits
- Read more books
- Became more politically active and aware
- Separated myself from toxic people
- Started cooking meals just for myself
- Gave up social media for Lent
- Had a yard sale and gave away a lot of things I no longer need
- Took a reflection retreat for a week by myself to my friend’s house near the water
- Celebrated my 60th birthday in grand style with my daughters, a fancy hotel suite, and a limo
- Donated to charity a lot of things I have not used in years
- Practiced tough love on a relative who violated our house rules
- Had a long-overdue discussion with a family member about unacceptable behavior
- Dwelled on gratitude for small blessings, like my high-pressure shower head that is so much better than the water-saving one my father made us use when I was growing up
- Got better at accepting compliments without protesting
- Took up walking for exercise
- Learned how to unplug after a certain time each night
- Worked on saying no more often
- Spoke my truth
- Asked for help when I needed it
- Worked with women dedicated to their recovery
- Shed relationships with women who were not dedicated to their recovery
- Researched other possibilities for my career path