Positive Aging
We are never too old to learn. We are in an unplanned slow down mode and should welcome the opportunity it presents. The Transition Network (TTN) is so important because it is for a group of women who are re-focusing or has re-focused their lives so they can enjoy it. Our lives are made more meaningful by interacting with other members such as meeting for lunch or dinner, visiting exciting places such as museums, theater, city sights and playing games. We also have fulfilling conversations at our peer groups and cherish the friendships we have found. We have been celebrating aging for years and this year we continued the journey through virtual means.
Positive aging, also called "healthy aging," is defined by the World Health Organization as "the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well-being in older age."
That is us!!
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How We Choose to Age
Kerry Thomas
We have so many women with diversified backgrounds. We now have a member who specializes in aging. Kerry is
passionate about helping people thrive and age successfully by coaching people in mid-late life on how to create and sustain meaningful and purposeful next chapters. Kerry relies on strategic tools and training to assist clients in gaining clarity and direction during this season of life, by turning their core values and interests into an achievable and purposeful road map.
Change is the one constant in our lives that we know is true. If we are fortunate enough to live a long life, we will be faced with many changes and transitions over our life course. Despite our knowledge of this, embracing change as we age can become increasingly challenging.Researchers remind us that we are living in an era of longevity – a period in history which has created both opportunities and challenges that those of past generations did not fully experience. So, it’s True! Age 50 really is the new 40...60 the new 50, and 70 the new 60! However, this additional gift of time also means we may have to rethink our aging relative to careers, relationships, finances, education (L. Gratton & A. Scott – “The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in the Age of Longevity”).
It also means that we may need to rethink what brings us joy, satisfaction and motivation in our later life chapters. Those things that created meaning and purpose in our earlier life chapters are no longer relevant...children are raised, careers have peaked, friends have moved. The social, professional and relational constructs that worked for us in the past, may no longer feel like the best fit anymore. We have officially crossed into the season of middlescense. A stage full of paradoxes – ending and beginning, fear and excitement, pulling back and taking risks, loss and gain.
“
Middlescense”
Much like adolescence, the season of mid-late life can create a similar state of confusion and uncertainty. It’s during both of these life stages that we may experience feelings of being lost, stuck, less confident, restless and undefined. A bit like aimlessly floundering through the wilderness with no clear direction or decisiveness on which path to take next.
“Reset...Rethink...Redefine”
However, re-imagining our lives and the possibilities of “What’s Next” can help us better embrace our later life stages and age more successfully and with a greater level of satisfaction. A more meaningful and purposeful “second half” is very much achievable through the exploration of our strengths, core values, passions and interests. It’s provides a time to reexamine our priorities, goals, bucket list, and even legacy.Letting go of our “old story” helps us incorporate a remarkable new mindset and embrace a “new story” for our next life stage (R. Leider – "The Power of Purpose: Find Meaning, Live Longer, Better”).
Tomorrow will be a new chapter in your life story...make it a meaningful one!
Kerry is a Gerontologist and founder of
AgeSmart Strategies, LLC
. If you would like more information please contact her at kerry@agesmartstrategies.com.
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We encourage you to bring friends, prospective members, and female acquaintances to any of our programs so they too can experience what TTN has to offer.
Keep in mind all events require a headcount days before the actual date. Please register as early as your schedule allows
. We consider all schedules and hope everyone will find an event that is convenient and sign up.
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Working Women
TTN Atlanta has quite a few women who are working full and/or part-time. In June we held a kickoff discussion with a group of our working women, asking them if they would be interested in being part of an ongoing discussion focused on the challenges and opportunities of working through and beyond retirement. Overwhelmingly the response was positive, so we will be initiating an ongoing discussion for our women who work and will soon announce the next Zoom meeting which will be scheduled in
August.
If you missed our kickoff call and want to be part of this new group, please email either Lynn Anderson at
lynn_anderson84@att.net
, or JoAnne D’Aleo at
jld726@gmail.com
.
We Took a Tour
Since we can't travel the world now, we are doing the next best thing, virtual traveling to places near and far. In June we had a blast visiting St. Petersburg Russia, home of the Winter Palace, Alexander the Great, and the Northern Lights!
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Please go to
https://www.thetransitionnetwork.org/events/atl
to check out all of the events we can attend. You can now register for any event from any chapter because everything is virtual and no need to drive anywhere. There are interesting activities planned from the Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC chapters and more. Keep in mind time zone differences and plan accordingly. Register on the website and enjoy!!!
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Travel Anyone?
Next stop on "Where in the World is ATL TTN?" will be .... drum roll please ... Barcelona. A passionate, vibrant city of new and old world culture. Join us on
July 15th, 4:30 - 5:30
as we embark on another virtual journey to Barcelona! Register:
https://www.thetransitionnetwork.org/events/4554/atl/
New Programs
Coffee Hour
- 1
1:00 AM to Noon July 17th
- Join us for a morning zoom coffee hour with your TTN Friends. Share with us what new skills you have tried during the Pandemic. Let us inspire each other to be flexible and learn new activities. Register:
https://www.thetransitionnetwork.org/events/4556/atl/
Wine Down Wednesday
-
7:00 PM July 29t
h - 2021 we hope will be the year we will be able to travel to places we weren't able to this year. Come join the TTN ladies for Wine Down Wednesday and talk about where we dream of going while enjoying a glass of wine! Register:
https://www.thetransitionnetwork.org/events/4555/atl/
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How About These Recommendations via Streaming Services
If you are like most of us, deciding what to watch is a chore, we are listing some titles that may interest you.
While at home, enjoy some of our recommendations, and if you have others you would like to add, please reply to this email and we will update the list next time.
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Some of our members are highly recommending these movies/series:
On Amazon Prime
The Seaside Hotel
- an engrossing version of Upstairs Downstairs at the beach in the 1920's (English Subtitles)
A French Village
- a small village in France under German occupation (English Subtitles)
Vera, The Art of Crime
(detective shows)
Last Tango in Halifax, A Place to Call Home
On Acorn Service
The Good Karma Hospital
On Netflix
Broadchurch, Paranoid
PBS
Baptiste, Beecham House and World on Fire
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When one thinks of TTN they often think of retired women as being the majority of our membership. We have many women with thriving careers, some are winding down and others work part-time. We will recognize one of our working members as she shares what her career has meant and her next steps.
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Working and Identity; One Perspective on a Gradual Approach to Retirement
by Dr. Betsy Gard
In August, I will be celebrating my 42nd year of having defended my doctoral thesis. I began my graduate studies at Washington University. After completing comprehensives exams, research for my masters and doctorate, working at the VA and at a children’s hospital, and a year at UNC-Chapel Hill for my internship, I earned my Doctorate. Then, in Atlanta, I had to take national, state, and oral exams to be admitted as a licensed psychologist. This is to say, I spent a good part of my young adult years preparing to do what I do. My identity has and continues to be tied in with being a clinical psychologist as both a career choice and the paid work I do. As I have contemplated retirement, I have wondered what could “take the place” of my
practice and my professional identify. I am clearer now that my professional identity will continue whether I am carrying a caseload of clients for whom I provide services or continue volunteering with the Red Cross, with refugees and asylum seekers, or serve as an Adjunct Volunteer Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department of Emory. I am now doing part-time independent practice but nearly full-time volunteer work as this has always been a cornerstone of my gratitude for having had the opportunities I have had and lived a life filled with meaningful work. There are other activities I hope to initiate or continue to enjoy; including writing poetry and short stories, traveling, learning to speak another language, having more time to read, becoming a more proficient cook, and spending more time with family, friends and the Transition Network. However, a gradual moving away from paid work but continuing my relationship to my profession is helping me transition but not leave behind what I have loved doing. However, it is not what I do that defines me but rather, who I am.
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AM I GOOD ENOUGH?
Have you ever thought: “I’m fat.” “I’m old.” “I’m not enough.” I was young once. To all my female friends from 40 years and up, most of us are going through the next phase of our lives. We’re at that age where we see wrinkles, gray hair, and extra pounds. We see the cute 25-year-old women and reminisce. But we were also 25, just as they will one day be our age. We aren’t the “girls in their summer clothes” anymore. What they bring to the table with their youth and zest, we bring with our wisdom and experience. We have raised families, run households, paid the bills, dealt with disease, sadness, and everything else life has assigned us. Some of us have lost those who were nearest and dearest to us. We are survivors. We are warriors in the quiet. We are women, like a classic car or a fine wine.
Even if our bodies aren’t what they once were, they carry our souls, our courage, and our strength. We shall all enter this chapter of our lives with humility, grace, and gratefulness over everything we have been through and we should never feel bad about getting older because it’s a privilege that is denied to so many. (From a Facebook Post)
Enjoy this stage of life!!!
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SIGs and TPGs
We continue to have some great
Special Interest Groups
(SIGs) activities as part of the Atlanta TTN experience. If you are interested in a SIG, look for information in our newsletter and emails with information about the date and location. Sign up to attend as many as you like. Share with a friend and let them experience the power of TTN!
Guests can attend outings for a limited number of times.
Transition
Peer Groups
(TPGs)
are for women to share and learn from each other. While the groups are meant to create a supportive environment, be aware that any member of TTN can go to any Peer Group meeting with the exception of Cobb. We have them set up by location to make it easier for you to attend one closer to your home.
Only members should attend our Peer Group meetings.
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Book Club SIG
On
Friday, July 10th,
at 12:30, the Book Club will discuss
The Splendid and the Vile
by Erik Larson. The manner of meeting will be decided closer to the date.
On Friday, August 14th
, at 12:30
The Vanishing Half
by Brit Bennett is the book of choice. Reach out to Marianna Murphy if more information is needed.
Mah Jongg SIG
It is time and should
be a nice day to have an in person Mah Jongg game. This SIG is still considering the restrictions and abiding by the health recommendations, but will try a meeting outside in Mason Mill Park
Monday July 6th at 11:00AM
. Each member should bring a chair and lunch. This group desperately misses the socializing, having lunch as a group and of course playing Mah Jongg. It should be an enjoyable day.
Meet and Eat SIG
The next Meet and Eat is Wednesday,
July 22 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM.
We will meet over Zoom and eat something from our kitchens, or that we have had delivered. This will be an opportunity to socialize, see each other virtually, and discuss future plans for meeting and eating In Person. Please RSVP on the TTN website by July 21st so that we can send you the meeting link. Register:
https://www.thetransitionnetwork.org/events/4563/atl/
Movie SIG
The Cobb Movie Group will have two movie groups to look forward to in August.
Thursday, August 6th
&
Thursday, August 13th
both at 7:00 pm. Sharon Karpel and Judy Golden will be pick the movie and will send out notices to those who are a part of this SiG.
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Peer Group Meetings
To make it easier for the Peer Groups and new participants we would like you to contact JoAnne D'Aleo if you want to attend one of our groups. She will coordinate your attendance with the Peer Group
.
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Transition peer groups are informal, leaderless groups composed of 8-12 TTN members who meet on a monthly basis to engage in informal discussions. These groups provide a safe and supportive environment in which women may have thought-provoking and stimulating conversations relating to career or personal transitions.
Transition peer groups provide opportunities for connection, new friendships and mutually supportive exploration. The intention of these groups is for women to share and learn from each other, and while the groups are meant to create a supportive environment, they are neither support groups nor therapy groups and cannot substitute for professional help when a member may confront a personal life crisis and need special assistance.
Transition Peer Groups are a benefit of TTN membership.
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ITP Decatur and Dekalb - Evening
The meeting is always the 3rd Monday night of each month. The next meeting is
Monday, July 20th
,
6:30 PM.
A decision will be made closer to the date if a meeting will take place outside, respecting social distancing and each member bring their own food. The alternate plan is to have a Zoom meeting.
Decatur Peer Group II - Day
The group will meet on the second Tuesday of the month. The next meeting will be on
Tuesday,
July 14th at 12:30
PM
.
You will receive an email with the Zoom meeting instructions. Please contact Anna Apostolou if you are interested in being a part of this Peer Group. Her phone number is 404-734-4327.
ITP Intown - Day
The 3rd Tuesday of each month is the normal meeting day, For this month the meeting time will be
Wednesday,
July 8th at 12:00 Noon
. It will be outside at Alyse's residence or a Zoom meeting. This group is
open for new members. If you live in the Intown/Vinings area and would like to be part of a peer group, please contact JoAnne D’Aleo at
jld726@gmail.com
and she will help get you set up with this group.
Cobb II Peer Group - Evening
This group is for members in the Cobb area who are not affiliated with the established group.
Members decided they wanted to meet every 2 weeks
..
You will receive an email with the Zoom meeting instructions.
Cobb Peer Group - Evening
This Peer Group is closed, meaning the members attending will be the only ones to attend future meetings. This group meets once a quarter.
Perimeter Peer Group - Evening
The group will meet
Wednesday, July 8th, 7:00-9:00 PM
. Normally this group will meet the first Wednesday night of every month.
They will meet through Zoom.
New Peer Group(s) forming in the Perimeter Area - Day
Are you new to TTN? Would you like to be part of a transition peer group being formed in the Perimeter area? The geographic location is North Dunwoody AND the Sandy Springs area. These groups will meet
during the day,
most likely on a Monday or Tuesday.Please contact JoAnne at
jld726@gmail.com
for more information.
Gwinnett Peer Group - Day
The next one is
Wednesday, July 29th
from 1:00-3:00 PM
.
The regular meeting day is the last Wednesday of each month.
North Atlanta Peer Group - Evening
This group regular meeting date is the last Monday of each month. For July they will meet
Monday,
July 20th at 6:30 PM.
You will receive an email with the Zoom meeting instructions.
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Don't forget to participate in
Operation Gratitude
.
We are asking you to write letters to first responders to show them how much we appreciate their efforts. Please get your letters to Susan McCarthy by
July 15
th
. When you send the letter(s) to Susan, please include your email address on a post-it so she can acknowledge receipt. We will send all the letters in bulk to Operation Gratitude. Susan’s address is: 154 Ennisbrook Drive, Smyrna, GA 30082.
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Invite Friends
If you know of anyone who might be interested in the Atlanta TTN, please get them added to our Newsletter Mailing list. Send their name and email to Gail Collier-Glover at gail.cglover@gmail.com. She will add them to our list.
BE A FRIEND - BRING A FRIEND - MAKE A FRIEND!!
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Questions? Comments? Concerns?,
Cindy von Hohenheiten is our co-chair and will take questions, concerns or if you need assistance.
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We are posting information on our FACEBOOK page. We have articles that may interest you, updates, and features. Please go to:
We have a new goal to reach 200 "Likes" by the end of the year. It is a pleasure to see more and more interest being paid to our Facebook page and the resulting interaction. Please encourage your Facebook friends to Like us. "Liking" our page is one way to find out what is going on in our chapter and to make sure your friends know what you are doing as a member of TTN. Choose "Invite Friends", and invite as many as you like. This is a busy year for Atlanta TTN so don't miss out on all of the new activities and interesting news posted to our Facebook page. If you have information you'd like to share please reach out to
That is a way of increasing viewership and possibly recruiting new members. Any post, article or event of interest please let Gail know!
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