My husband and I decided to take a gap year at age 62 – more than forty years after we were supposed to take time out before starting real life. It was really my idea. I was driven by a desire to find clarity.

Typically, you take a gap year right before university, or right after – before you enter the real world. It’s something we talked about when we met and fell in love in college. I was a freshman; he was a sophomore. But somehow it never happened, primarily because of Sam’s career as a physician.

For Sam (aka Samuel P. Harrington, M.D.), that meant medical school, training and then 31 years in private practice in Washington D.C. Meanwhile, I was working as a journalist and then an online pioneer – and raising our three children.

In 2013 we jumped off the cliff to reinvent our lives. That’s Sam, above, in the blue swim trunks.

Our gap year(s) continue in Stonington, ME and New Haven, CT. We have six grandchildren.

Originally called The Gap Year Podcast, my podcast has been renamed [B]OLDER. It’s  about making the most of growing older: i.e. using this latter stage of life to create, to find meaning, and to make a difference. I talk to well-known authors and experts, as well as inspiring individuals, about post-career identity, non-retirement, fear of aging, the pursuit of happiness, bucket lists, and more. Sam is a recurring guest!

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