My husband, Michael, and I were having a pleasant road trip. Then my phone rang.
It was Michael’s sister, Joan, and the car’s speaker blasted her voice for Michael to hear.
Usually, I like to talk, hang out and travel with Joan. But this time I was not crazy about the conversation.
Joan asked if she could recommend me for the Five for Life podcast series. Because I’d received Five for Life Journals for Christmas, I knew it was a research-based approach to helping us live meaningful lives as we age. It is all good stuff.
“What are the podcasts about?”
“On a recent one, they interviewed a woman who became a weightlifter in her 60s. I thought of you and how hard to have tried to get back in shape. You’d be a great subject for a podcast!”
As she happily chatted Micahel glanced at me with a look that said, “Why wouldn’t you do that?”
My eye-roll communicated, “I’m private, guarded, and I don’t like to be recorded. Besides, I’m prone to rambling, not getting to the point of much of anything, and falling into the weird syntax of Stengelese when I’m nervous.”
In the end, I agreed to let Joan forward my contact information the women at Five for Life. I planned to refuse or stall later when Michael and Joan couldn’t hear me.
Joan passed my name on.
I stalled.
Molly of Five for Life was persistent. She emailed, called my home phone, and called my cell.
Recently, I’d drafted my Hanging with Kamala piece, and that post was all finding my voice. As I dealt with another contact from Molly, I had to reluctantly tell myself that refusing a podcast would be antithetical for an old lady who is trying to find her voice.
So I agreed.
In their introduction, Molly and Angela mentioned that I was their most reluctant podcaster to date. No doubt, I’ll have that title for a very long time!
But, I did it.
If you want to hear my voice, you can check out the podcast.
If you want to learn something smart about aging, then listen to some of the other podcasts on Five for Life. We can each use all the help we can get!