‘Approaching 70, my man’s long gone and there’ll be no replacement!’

I’m approaching 70 in July and I have been thinking back over past milestones. There’s a lot to consider, especially when it comes to romance and marriage.

When I was 20, I was engaged and planning a wedding I didn’t want. I preferred something that was quiet and no fuss. The registry office would have done for me. We were saving to buy a house. At that age, I thought my future was well and truly mapped out.

By the time I was 30, I was living in Australia and expecting my third child. Within 12 months of turning 20 I had broken my engagement, had a wild and wonderful but disastrous three-month relationship (it turned out he was married), then met my future husband and together we emigrated to wonderful Perth in Western Australia.

I was well settled in domestic bliss at age 40. Our three children were growing up and I had returned to part-time work. However, I was becoming very disenchanted with my marriage.

I celebrated my 50th birthday in the United Kingdom with my two daughters who were doing their “holiday in the UK” thing. I had moved to full-time work and was enjoying it immensely. Yet, I was even more disenchanted with my marriage.

At the age of 60, I had got divorced and had met someone new. I was travelling extensively within Australia. I was living in Alice Springs, and working with Aboriginal communities, and in roadhouses around the place, all the time seeing this wonderful country. I had crossed the Nullarbor eight times! I had climbed to the top of Uluru, needing my bum pushed a few times on the difficult climb to the top.

Approaching 70, that man is long since gone. There will be no replacement! Single life from now on, by choice! I have travelled to Europe, England, the United States, and China. My biggest joy now is my grandchildren. I’m retired, loving it and planning more travelling.

I wonder what I’ll be writing in 10 years time?

How has your life changed over the years? Did it take a path you expected it to? What have been some of the surprises?

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