The last 12 months have been great for raising the voice of the over-60s community at Starts at 60, something we feel strongly about doing. During the next few weeks we are celebrating the blogs that resonated with readers the most throughout the year. This blog is one of our Top 30 blogs for 2018.

I turned 70 in July and in the lead up to this major event, I thought 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.

At 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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