OK, it’s been a while. For a lot of different reasons…but I am still alive, heading toward 82, and more or less functioning.

As you know, I was in Rwanda early in the year for a month with my daughter, Jan, her husband, Bill, and my pals from France, Lars and Nirin. We rented a five-bedroom house with a cook and cleaners. They were great…..and so is the country. It was my second trip and Jan’s third. There is a lot of construction and excitement and energy there. If you think you might want to go, let me know and I’ll send you more information.

So that’s the good news. When I got back to Seattle, where I’ve been living in Jan and Bill’s mother-in-law apartment when I’m in the U.S., I seemed to enter a new stage of life. My social needs, which have defined my life for so many years, turned inward. All those constant interactions no longer beckoned.

And then, I fell!! It was in the middle of the night. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I was finished, I groggily turned left instead of right and fell down three stairs. I couldn’t move without serious pain, so I just lay there on the floor until Jan and Bill came down a few hours later!! (Kira, my golden retriever grand-daughter, kept me company.)

Turned out I broke my shoulder and ended up in the hospital and then rehab for almost two weeks. I’ve been back in the house for a couple of months now, and while my body is healing slowly, I am still hurting (shoulder, back, and ankle), with a pile of exercises to do (I’m not big on exercises), and basically depressed. I am working with someone on the depression and searching for something that will give me purpose (a way to give back) in this new phase of life… any ideas?

I’m planning to do a blog on aging….and/or maybe a podcast with Jan. And I will let you know how my body is moving. Check in again in a week or so. Thanks.     rg (femalenomad@gmail.com)