RETIREMENT VERSUS THE ENCORE CAREER
Making a Difference in the Second Half of Your Life
We’re finished raising our families. We’ve launched our children into productive lives of their own. So, we turn our attention inward. Are we happy doing what we’re doing—are we doing what we love? Are we making a difference in the world? How can we make each day count, now that we perhaps don’t need to focus on money as much? On Monday, June 11, 2007, WHYY of Philadelphia brought together author Marc Freedman (Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life, PublicAffairs, 2007) and former Philadelphia mayor Dr. W. Wilson Goode (founder of the nonprofit Amachi) in a live, in-studio program to discuss what people do with their time and careers later in life. WHYY members and the general public were invited, so I signed up. It sounded interesting.

THE LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP
Creative Maintenance
In this fast-moving cyber age, when families scatter across the continent at the drop of a job or the collapse of a marriage, maintaining relationships can be more of a challenge than ever. The old days of the traditional extended family, with grandparents, their children (maybe several of them), and their children’s children all living under one roof, are now part of our social history. To keep up with these rapid changes, good friends and family members living far apart must learn new skills and stay as close to the cutting edge of modern technology (and travel bargains) as possible, while retaining their old-fashioned desire. “I’ll do anything to be with my kids/grandkids/friends” must be the mantra for those of us who don’t want to lose the close contact, the joy of discovery, and the warmth and touching that even frequent phone calls can’t bring.

WEDDING BELLS . . . AT A DISTANCE
Planning a Destination Wedding: The Months Before
In the last issue of Empty Nest, we recounted our planning of Amie and Todd’s Maine destination wedding from their engagement in June 2006 through the winter of 2007, including a reconnaissance trip to Mount Desert Island, Maine, in October. At that point, we had set a date, time, and place for the ceremony and reception. We mailed a save-the-date card to each guest, we chose and ordered bridesmaids’ dresses, and Amie selected and ordered her dress. So much done, yet so much to do, especially when doing it all long distance!

REAL PEOPLE EMPTY NESTING
An Interview with Louise Robinson Doskow
Some people change careers at midlife—to do something more fulfilling, to make the world a better place. Some, however, advocate for change all their lives. Take Louise Robinson Doskow. Her career involves editing medical textbooks. By avocation, though, she has been called “an agent of social change” and has been recognized by various organizations for her volunteer work as an activist.

More!