#2 Welcome to Wise Wednesdays Unleashed
How do you like to travel? Solo or with a companion?
Hello and welcome to our second edition of Wise Wednesdays Unleashed. This is a safe and supportive space Iāve created especially for you to be part of the Words, Wisdom & Conversation community. Each Wednesday, I ask a fun or insightful question and invite you to add your thoughts (or just pop in and say hi) in the comments. I tend to focus on how we, as writers and readers of āa certain ageā can share our collective wisdom as we move through this chapter of our lives.
Yes, I do know itās Thursday, but itās important to me that I keep my commitments to my paid subscribers. My apologies for running a little late but Iām excited to be here with you.
Up until recently (following my husbandās cancer diagnosis), I have been a frequent traveller. So much so, that I used to joke that I needed to stop traveling in order to write more books. Iāve had the good fortune to have visited virtually every corner of the world. Many of those trips enabled me to combine my love of travel with the research for my thrillers. In fact, itās my love of travel that lead me to write international suspense. You may know that my novels are set in Italy and Malta.
Over the years, Iāve travelled alone, with close couple friends, women friends, with small groups, and with my husband. Can you guess which I prefer and why?
Before I give you my answer and ask you a question of my own, Iād like to tell you what got me thinking about this topic. First, a few weeks ago, I read an article in one of Canadaās national newspapers, the Globe & Mail, entitled Flying solo: Evolving how we think about women who choose to age alone . In the article, author Vicki Larsonāwho writes about ageism, marriage, divorce, singlehood and living apart togetherāwas asked about interviewing women and the kinds of lives they want as they age. She said she heard a common refrain:
āThey really prefer to maintain their freedom and independence, even if it means they may get lonely.ā
In Larsonās book, Not Too Old for That: How Women are Changing the Story of Aging, she talks about women reporting being lonelier in their marriage than being alone.
Interesting! I have personally had women tell me they were lonelier in their long-term relationships than they ever had been when they were alone. In fact, several divorced and widowed friends have said they wouldnāt marry or live with someone again. Having said that, I have many friends who have been in fulfilling marriages for 40 and 50+ years. Weāre all different, right? And thank goodness for that!
So, after reading these and other articles, I thought hmm, I wonder how this extends to traveling. So, my question to you isā¦
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