Senior Pen Pals... and Life!
by Terry Baker
(England UK)
Just thought I would share my recent experiences with the readers on here . I retired years ago from farming a hard but rewarding life!
I was married to a truly marvelous woman for 45 years, we enjoyed each others company laughed every day. Then Lady Luck decided I had it too good and decided to test me, first with a major fire at the farm that did £250 000 of damage caused by malicious arsonist.
Just recovering from the stress of that when my wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer... I won't go into the details of nursing her until she died last year, but suffice to say it was a very dark place to be.
All through these traumatic experiences I wrote to pen friends, some indeed were contacts from this site! I cannot even start to tell you how they helped and how grateful I will always be to them.
Instead of slipping deeper into the pit of despair I agreed to go to the Philippines to celebrate the 65th birthday of one good pen pal.
I had not had a holiday in 8 years so this seemed a good idea. The result was brilliant! We have become extremely fond of each other and I am staying for another 3 weeks in glorious weather. This lovely lady has now agreed to visit the UK this summer ...so watch this space!
I am only recounting my experiences to show readers that its never too late, I am a fit 74 year old, my advice has always been... never miss an opportunity.
No regrets when the last bus stops for you ok?
Terry B
Wendy: WOW.. Terry, Kudos to you for taking the road to mental wellness, simply by chatting and opening yourself up to others. It's far too easy to take the other road, dark and sad, and withdraw from others. Instead, simply via pen pals and the written word - you helped to heal yourself with simple old-fashioned friendship! So happy for you!
