Openly Aging

When my son Jack died, people immediately understood that our family was living through an unimaginable tragedy.
His death was sudden. Unexpected. Out of the natural order of life.
But as I’ve lived with grief, I’ve realized something that has changed how I think about aging.
Grief isn’t only part of tragic, unexpected loss.
It’s part of growing older.
We lose spouses. Parents. Siblings. Lifelong friends. Sometimes even children later in life. Those losses may be expected by society, but that doesn’t make them easier to carry.
An expected death is still a profound loss.
I hope this week starts a conversation we don’t have often enough—that grief deserves to be acknowledged, supported, and talked about at every stage of life.
No matter who you’re grieving, your loss matters.
❤️ If someone came to mind while reading this, this post is for them too.

If no one would naturally notice a change in your day-to-day life…

This matters more than you think.

You don’t lose independence overnight.

Follow for positive, proactive aging.

If you’re trying to start the aging conversation and your spouse shuts it down…

Try this instead.

Don’t start with problems.
Start with what’s working.

“What do we love about our life today?”
“What’s important to you right now?”

Because the goal isn’t to prepare for something going wrong—
it’s to protect what you don’t want to lose.

Follow along for more conversations like this.