Friday Finds: Growing Up

So... yeah. As of my last birthday, I'm officially "of a certain age". I really struggled with this and am still not entirely resigend to the fact that I can no longer be considered "young" by anyone's definition of the word (except for, maybe, most of the population of Florida).

Weirdly, something shifts when one hits this point in life. Suddenly, retirement isn't just some concept in the distant future. Life insurance actually becomes important to one's financial planning. And, sadly, the body starts to rebel.

And AARP, in some weird confluence of ESP and good direct marketing, manages to send you their membership information ON THE WEEK OF YOUR BIRTHDAY. Wth? Really? Like it isn't already enough of a shock?

One good thing that happened, as a result of my birthday, was that I was asked to help beta-test a new web portal called Next Avenue - owned and maintained by PBS (Public Broadcasting Service (home of Sesame Street), for our non-US readers). I agreed to participate primarily because I have great love for PBS and I'm always impressed with the quality of their projects and content.

The portal is aimed squarely at people aged 50 and over. But, unlike most of the content meant for this demographic, it doesn't pander (much). It recognizes that we're all "younger" at this age than previous generations - but that we're still beset by the same concerns like health, money, work, and (while not part of my life yet) caregiving. I was, and continue to be, impressed by the content and how well they manage elevate being "of a certain age" to a status to be proud of, instead of embarrased by.

So, especially for our readers 50 and over (but also for our younger readers who might be interested in retirement planning, easy to implement health improvements, etc.) I introduce you to Next Avenue - where grown-ups keep growing.

- Alex