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Friendships

For most of our lives, our social relationships are accidental. Then, in our 60s, we find ourselves wondering how to make friends as an adult. This is not a trivial question. Having strong social ties is good for our health and happiness. Let's explore this topic together.

4 years ago

Why Women Over 60 Should Enjoy Friendships with Older People

I once had the pleasure to help celebrate a woman’s 100th birthday – on a cruise vacation no less. She clapped with such joy when the entire dining room chorused Happy Birthday. She blew out her candles with the enthusiasm…

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4 years ago

The Power of Rediscovering Childhood Friends After 60

It took me 50 years to discover the power of a childhood friend. It all started when I was shipped off to sleep away camp in the summer of 1969 and met Betsy Brown. By 1975 we were already too old for camp. Would we still be friends…

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4 years ago

What Living in Mexico Taught Me About the Meaning of Friendship

Covid-19 put the brakes on our lives and changed the rules of social engagement practically overnight. Have some things changed forever, like how we worked and the way we shopped? Will it have any permanent effect on how we stay…

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4 years ago

Social Media, Emotional Residue, and Friendships

If you Google emotional residue it talks about the scientific study of how strong emotions in a space can be detected by others even after the person feeling the emotion is no longer there. The whole concept of “bad vibes” appears…

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4 years ago

The Life-Sustaining Value of Female Friendship During Covid

For most women, friends form the basis of our well-being. Sure, our partners may be on the front line, but, particularly for women over 60, friendships have great emotional heft. They form the basis of our social life and contribute…

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4 years ago

My Summer of Love with Martha and Mary

You may be familiar with the Biblical story of Martha and Mary. Mary is sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus, absorbing his wisdom, and Martha is orchestrating the events of the evening and making sure there is food on the table…

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4 years ago

How Often Do You Evaluate Your Connections? Perhaps It’s Time You Get to It

A gift of the Coronavirus is time for self-reflection. This was impossible in normal times; so consumed were we with work, family, household chores, volunteering, book club, working out, and general “busy-ness.” In mid-March all that came…

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4 years ago

Feeling Isolated and Alone? Create an Extended Family from Scratch and Energize Your Golden Years!

Don’t you wish you had interesting and enjoyable people to hang out with? Covid-19 has left many people feeling isolated and alone. Perhaps you were feeling disconnected even before the pandemic, wondering how to grow a network…

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4 years ago

Do You Remember the Old-Fashioned Visit?

I don’t know about you, but I found that among my friends, the default position for getting together was always going out to a restaurant for lunch or dinner and sometimes even for breakfast. When two of us women finally hit upon a mutually…

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5 years ago

Friendship and Coronavirus: Listening Is the New Being There

Two years ago, my partner and I set out on a journey. The idea was to build an intentional community of friends. A virtual home for those whose values, likes, and dislikes were compatible with ours…

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