Month: November 2025

I remember the first time a “senior” discount was bestowed upon me without my asking. I don’t know if I was more upset that I finally qualified for the discount, or that I LOOKED like I qualified for the discount.

Senior discounts date back to the Great Depression of 1929, which hit retirees the hardest. At that time, the average age of retirement was 65 and the stock market crash eliminated much of these retirees’ savings. Companies tried to ease the burden with discounts.

Senior Discounts Now Start as Early as Age 55

These days, senior discounts can start as early as age 55, but most kick in at the 60 plus mark. I was reminded of this as I was recently buying tickets for a trade show I wanted to attend. There were four categories of pricing: standard, senior, child, group. I automatically ticked off standard, but then I read that senior was available to anyone 60 and older with proper identification. Alas, my driver’s license doesn’t lie and I qualify.

The difference in price between standard and senior was $3.00 and I thought twice about ticking the senior box, but then I thought why not? I deserve to be rewarded for my many years of paying full price, and the hard truth is that people of my age do face higher costs for healthcare and insurance, while being discriminated against in the work force. I also thought it would be fun to be “carded” once again for something other than under-age consumption of alcohol.

But I’m Not That Feeble

The thing is, I just always thought that by the time I would utilize this benefit, I would be feebler. I am still quite active and work part-time at a family business, so I don’t feel much like a senior, and I certainly don’t look like one (so, others have told me).

And, that’s just it. Senior citizens today look and act much differently from seniors past. Many of us are still working full-time, running marathons, raising children, and trying to make a difference in our communities.

A Reward for a Life Well Led, Not a Sympathy Card

So, I started to view the “senior” discount differently. To be clear, the discounts I am referring to are from corporate sponsors, not government issued benefits that are necessary for some families. I now look at the “senior” discount as more of a reward for a life well led, versus a sympathy card for aging. Companies are providing us with these perks so that we remain active and outgoing, and, of course, to continue to use their products. I’m fine with that.

I know many women (and men) who lie about their age. Some people are competing for a job or promotion, others are looking for a younger mate, and some just want to be viewed as hip and current. (By my using the word “hip,” you can gather that I am not.) It is difficult to realize we are not invincible.

And, indeed, there is a part of me that views accepting the “senior” discount as admitting my vulnerability when, in fact, it should be seen as a rite of passage. It’s just hard sometimes to admit that we are maturing, and at a faster rate than some of us may like. But getting older is a privilege and if we can get some perks for all our wisdom, even better. So, I am not only qualifying for “the” discount now, I am embracing it and can’t wait to see where my discounts take me.

Let’s Discuss:

Have you embraced receiving senior discounts? Share with us some of your favorite discounts. Have you ever lied about your age to make it seem that you are younger?

I recently sat across from a young Catholic priest – only ordained a few years – who surprised me. He had real-world life experience, the kind you don’t always see in clergy, and he listened without trying to fix me. I told him I was struggling with my faith, something I’ve lived with my entire life. Despite decades in the church and a catholic school education, I have reached a point where the rituals feel mechanical, the prayers quiet, and the presence of God not nearly as certain as it once was.

People Are Different

Instead of offering tidy spiritual explanations or sermon-ready metaphors, he said something simple and startling:

“You think with your head. So, take a cerebral route back to faith. Use logic. Use what’s real to you.”

He also suggested something no priest had ever told me before: to read the kinds of spiritual works that embrace science rather than stories handed down through centuries. Not fairy tales, not legends, not metaphorical accounts meant to comfort, but writings that explore the intersection of faith and measurable reality.

Books by thinkers who ask, What can we prove? What does science reveal about consciousness, creation, energy, morality, or even the possibility of something beyond ourselves? He alluded that for some people, faith doesn’t grow from ancient narratives, it grows from evidence, from the astonishing things we now understand about the universe, the brain, the origin of life, and the mysteries science hasn’t solved yet.

If faith is going to become real for me again, it has to be built on things my mind can hold, and for the first time, that actually feels like a doorway I might be able to walk through.

Doubt Can Be a Tool

It was the first time someone in the Church told me that doubt didn’t disqualify me, that perhaps, for some of us, faith needs to be worked out the way we solve problems, answer questions, or learn to stand again after life has knocked us down.

And life has knocked me down as it has at one point of another for all of us!

This time of year is always bittersweet. My mother died 33 years ago, suddenly and without warning, just outside the church she had faithfully attended. I was young and heartbroken, and I carried rage toward God longer than I want to admit. People around me meant well, but their platitudes fell flat. “God has a plan,” they said. “One day you’ll understand.” But when you lose your mother days before Christmas – the holiday she brought to life with beauty and wonder – those words feel small.

Even now, more than three decades later, her death casts a shadow over every holiday season. A specter of grief that arrives on schedule. And yes, I have had many happy Christmases since then, years filled with laughter, family, gifts, and life moving on the way it does. But Christmas has never been the same. Loss changes the emotional temperature of everything it touches.

Maybe You Understand That

Maybe you, too, have discovered that grief doesn’t disappear, it integrates. It becomes part of the landscape of who we are.

Over the years, I tried to continue my faith the way I thought I should: attending Mass, saying the prayers, doing the things I was raised with. Yet I felt increasingly disconnected. In my work in hospice and eventually the funeral profession, I witnessed others facing losses that were overwhelming. Young individuals dying too soon, families shattered, parents begging God for comfort. I hoped God came through for them, truly I did. But the silence I felt in my own life made it hard to believe He ever heard me.

And so, for a long time, I carried an unspoken belief:

IF God is there, He must not be paying much attention.

Faith Isn’t All or Nothing

But here’s the thing that priest reminded me of, faith isn’t all or nothing. It isn’t binary. Human beings have seasons of belief, seasons of doubt, and seasons where all we can do is sit quietly and wait for the lights to flicker back on.

What if doubt isn’t the end of faith – but part of it?

What if the path back doesn’t require pretending we’re not hurt, or angry, or disillusioned?

What if the most honest prayer is simply: “I’m here. I’m struggling. But I’m still trying.”

For me, this year is about trying. Not in the way I once did – not trying to force belief or silence the questions, but trying to build a relationship with faith that fits the woman I am today. A woman shaped by love, grief, loss, resilience, and life experience. A woman who has learned that emotions don’t disappear with time; they settle in.

Faith Evolves

The priest told me something else that stayed with me:

“Faith doesn’t have to feel the way it used to.”

And maybe that is the most comforting truth of all.

We grow. Life changes. We become different people than we were at 20, 40, or even 60. Maybe faith must grow with us, not remain frozen in the form we learned as children.

As we move through another holiday season – one that may be joyful for some and heavy for others – I am giving myself permission to:

• Feel the grief without guilt.
• Celebrate the memories without pretending they aren’t bittersweet.
• Let faith be a journey instead of a verdict.

If you are reading this and your faith feels thin, or silent, or distant… you are not alone. Many of us in midlife and beyond are reevaluating what we believe, how we believe, and what we want faith to mean going forward.

Maybe the goal isn’t to return to the faith we once had.

Maybe the goal is to find the faith that can hold who we are now.

And if that requires thinking, questioning, reasoning, and rebuilding slowly? Then that isn’t failure. That is devotion in disguise.

As this season unfolds, with its mix of joy, memory, and meaning, I wish you a holiday filled with peace; peace in your home, peace in your heart, and peace in whatever you believe, or are still searching to believe. May we all enter the new year with gentleness, compassion for ourselves, and the understanding that every journey of faith, grief, love, or healing is individual and deserves patience and grace.

Your Thoughts:

What experiences have changed the holidays for you? Do loss and grief interfere with the season’s celebrations?

Photo: @jesseltaank

Style Stealers

!function(d,s,id){
var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? ‘http’ : ‘https’;
if(!d.getElementById(id)) {
e = d.createElement(s);
e.id = id;
e.src = p + ‘://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js’;
d.body.appendChild(e);
}
if(typeof window.__stp === ‘object’) if(d.readyState === ‘complete’) {
window.__stp.init();
}
}(document, ‘script’, ‘shopthepost-script’);

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Originally posted at: Jessel Taank’s Brown Suede Jacket

Photo: @dolorescatania

Style Stealers

!function(d,s,id){
var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? ‘http’ : ‘https’;
if(!d.getElementById(id)) {
e = d.createElement(s);
e.id = id;
e.src = p + ‘://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js’;
d.body.appendChild(e);
}
if(typeof window.__stp === ‘object’) if(d.readyState === ‘complete’) {
window.__stp.init();
}
}(document, ‘script’, ‘shopthepost-script’);

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Originally posted at: Dolores Catania’s Light Wash Palazzo Jeans

Tapping into our innate connection to nature, known as biophilia, is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, both physically and emotionally. The concept is also foundational to biophilic design, which brings in natural materials, patterns, plants, and other amenities to keep up our connection to nature while indoors.

This is especially important as we have less sunlight with shorter days and are outdoors less with colder temperatures during the winter months. Even if you live in a place that is warm year-round you can reap the benefits.

Here are a few easy ways to get started bringing biophilic design into your home.

Incorporate Light

Most things in nature thrive in slightly sunnier conditions, and so do humans. Incorporate natural light into your home by opening the blinds or placing your chair or desk near a well-lit area. This natural light will help increase your vitamin D dopamine levels, without having to leave your house.

If you live in an area prone to long stretches of rain and/or cloud covered conditions, you may consider the addition of a light box. It’s believed that this type of light therapy can create a chemical change in the brain that elevates your mood and alleviates symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), such as increased sleepiness and isolation.

Decorate with Natural Elements

While biophilia is more than just aesthetics, incorporating natural elements such as wood, plants, bamboo, cork, sustainable timber, stone, rattan, and more throughout your space helps put you in a positive state of mind.

As Americans spend nearly 90% of their time indoors, increasing natural elements in your everyday environment can have significant impacts on reducing stress and helping you feel calmer.

Become a Plant Owner

Here are some interesting statistics: plant ownership went up nearly 18 percent during the pandemic, with nearly 2/3 households owning at least one houseplant. Indoor leafy green plants can help improve air quality as they increase the level of oxygen within the space.

The plant leaves also absorb excess carbon dioxide and help regulate the room’s humidity by circulating water through their roots. With plants acting as a natural air purifier, you are quite literally bringing fresh air indoors.

Embrace the Sounds of Nature

Biophilia goes beyond your green thumb and natural materials. Incorporate an indoor water fountain into your home if you are missing the relaxing sound of water during the colder months or consider a rain-style shower head, incorporating the feeling of summer rainfall. You can also open the doors or windows (throughout the day), to let the real sounds of nature in.

Fortunately, with a few natural additions to your home, you can embrace the outside, improve your mood and support your overall well-being.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

How do you incorporate nature into your home? Do you plan to add a water feature to your home? How many plants do you have in your home? What is one natural element you plan to incorporate in your home this winter?