Month: February 2026

“Purpose? I never want another purpose,” a recent retiree told me. “I’ve had enough.”

We both laughed. After some conversation, she said she was open to a different word – meaning. Can you feel the difference? For many of us, the notion of purpose feels restrictive and full of obligation for good reasons.

Most women navigate life responding to the requirements of marriage, parenting, and work goals. During our lifetime, many women also became achievers professionally, as well as maintaining more traditional feminine roles. That is a lot to manage!

It is not only life roles that define us, but also the social norms regarding how a woman should behave. Although we have made progress, we women are still the primary caregivers, are appraised according to our social standards of beauty, and carry out traditional roles.

Let’s appreciate all we have done to balance life, support others and contribute throughout our lives. Let’s give ourselves a round of applause.

Then What?

What happens when we launch into the phase of life, usually in our 60s or perhaps 70s, when we no longer work, have family to care for (some of us still do), and perhaps have renegotiated our primary relationship to open into more freedom? Certainly, these responsibilities gave us a sense of purpose. The question before our retiree is what she will do with the new spaciousness now open after her career.

We have few external clues about what is supposed to be next. Society is more comfortable if we simply move to the background and quietly fade away.

When we are finally unbound from many of the external obligations of midlife that define how we live, we are free to decide the nature of our lives for ourselves. The recent retiree viewed her life ahead as one of not being confined by all the responsibilities associated with purpose; she felt a sense of release and relief. What she had not yet done is realize that she has the freedom to fill her new life with meaning, vitality, and happiness, however that expresses for her.

What if the opportunity ahead is really about taking advantage of the newfound spaciousness in life and defining for yourself who you are, how you live, what brings you happiness and meaning? How does that feel? Exciting? A little scary? Perplexing?

You Are Not Who You Were

One way to view this game-changing phase of life is to shift from living life from the perspective of who you believe you need to be, to one of living who you are free to be now. For our retiree, the word meaning rather than purpose helped her begin to view what she wants in life from this new viewpoint.

This shift is not a quick and simple process. Shifting our understanding of who we are here to be in this life is a deep adjustment and one that many of us have never navigated, so it is uncharted waters. Many of us have little practice in putting our own desires first. In fact, some of us have never had the opportunity to explore what we want personally.

How do you even find your own desires? It can feel selfish, foreign, and uncomfortable. Some of us are happy to keep life just as it is. Sometimes life presents us with life changes that require us to change somehow, like our retiree. Or we may just get sick and tired of feeling trapped in unhappiness and are ready to change.

When you think about what you want, take your time. Even if you think you know, pause and feel if that is still true.

Be an Explorer

One beginning is simply to notice whether you want something different. Be clear about your willingness to bring change into your life. I have spoken with women who feel dissatisfied yet are not ready for change; that is a valid choice. It is like deciding whether to take the trip or stay home.

The next step is to recognize the qualities that define who you are and that serve you. For example, being trustworthy, friendly, or skilled in certain areas. Pack these in your travel bag.

Then listen to yourself. What do you yearn for? Wish for? Just notice as you go. Perhaps creativity is calling you, or you have a yearning for the richness of friendship and community. Some people have a drive to make a unique difference in the world. Choose what feels right to you now.

Take a small step and see how you feel. You can always adjust. In fact, over time, most of us do find ourselves exploring once again according to life and personal changes.

Our retiree, in the end, did want meaning. She is exploring working with children and how to help them learn to center and calm themselves. It is beautiful because she is using her talents and it brings her joy.

Our stage of life is not about achieving, but about discovering what feels true and joyful now.

What Do You Think:

When your obligations began to lighten, what did you feel – relief, excitement, uncertainty? What might meaning look like for you now?

Click Here for Additional Stock in Her Top / Here for More Stock

Click Here for Additional Stock in Her Jeans

Photo + ID: @tamrajudge

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: Tamra Judge’s Striped Polo and Jeans

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: Erika Girardi’s Blue and White Striped Button Down Shirt and Skirt

Over the past few months, I’ve been thinking a great deal about legacy.

After losing both of my parents not long ago, I’ve found myself reflecting on what truly endures. Not just accomplishments or milestones, but the quieter things we pass down without fully realizing it.

Grief has a way of sharpening that question.

Rediscovering Joy

Then, last weekend, something small and joyful offered an unexpected answer.

I had the joy of spending time with my daughter and her family celebrating my granddaughter’s second birthday.

If you’ve ever spent time with a two-year-old, you know they are masters of presence. Everything is fascinating. Everything is funny. Everything is worth laughing about.

And she made me laugh – the deep, genuine, can’t-help-yourself kind of laughter.

In that moment, nothing about my grief changed. Nothing about the world felt different.

But I did.

I felt lighter.

More present.

More like myself again.

Sometimes legacy looks like laughter.

The Legacy We Don’t Plan

When we think about legacy, we often think in big terms – careers, achievements, traditions, financial security, or the values we intentionally teach.

But I’m beginning to believe legacy is also built in smaller, quieter ways.

It’s in the way we show up.

The way we love.

The way we respond to life when it’s difficult.

The way we create safe spaces for joy.

It’s in birthday afternoons and shared laughter that a child may not consciously remember one day – but will feel in her sense of belonging.

My parents lived long lives. They both died at 93. Their longevity has me thinking differently about time – about how many more years of influence, connection, and presence may still be ahead of me.

And how I want to spend them.

Not just productively.

Not just responsibly.

But joyfully.

At this stage of life, I believe we have more agency than we sometimes acknowledge. We may not control everything that happens to us, but we do get to decide how we move through it – and what kind of emotional atmosphere we create around us.

That, too, becomes part of our legacy.

Joy Is Something We Pass Down

As women over 60, many of us stand in a powerful place between generations – holding memories behind us and possibility in front of us.

We can’t control everything our children or grandchildren will face.

But we can pass down resilience.

Warmth.

Perspective.

And joy.

We can model what it looks like to grieve and still laugh.

To face uncertainty and still choose presence.

To carry sorrow – and still allow light in.

Joy is not denial. It’s strength.

And when a two-year-old laughs freely in your arms, you realize how contagious that strength can be.

A Gentle Invitation

This week, I’m holding onto one simple truth:

Small joy moments don’t erase hard things – they help us carry them.

And perhaps more importantly, they help shape the emotional climate of our families.

The tone we bring into a room.

The steadiness we offer in uncertainty.

The laughter we allow to bubble up.

Those are not small things.

They are living, breathing expressions of legacy.

Sometimes the most meaningful legacy isn’t something we leave behind.

It’s something we embody – one joyful moment at a time.

If You’re in a Reflective Season Too, I’d Love to Ask:

When was the last time you laughed deeply and freely? What small moments of joy are present in your life right now? How do you want to be remembered – not just for what you did, but for how you made others feel? What emotional atmosphere are you creating in this season of your life?

*Hers is part of her dress

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: Kyle Richards’ Gold Hoop Earrings