By the time people reach their seventh decade, they have learned many lessons. From a psychological standpoint, they understand what really matters. They have learned what to let go of. They know what they need to be happy. They also acknowledge the importance of being kinder to themselves and how relationships and experiences are more important than possessions. They tend to reflect on lessons learned and often recover more easily from adversity. They also focus on wanting the best for their loved ones.

I am a 71-year-old mother of three adult children and six grandchildren. The nurturing part of me wants to protect my family from all that threatens their safety, dignity, or emotional well-being. I want them to grow up in a peaceful world where all men and women are created equal, where music brings us together, and where everyone has a chance to self-actualize. This may be idealistic, but that’s the way I feel. My dreams for my grandkids are as lofty as they were for the three beautiful children I brought into the world.

I was born in the 1950s and raised in New York during the hippie generation. I hung out in head shops in the suburbs of New York City, wore beaded necklaces, walked barefoot in the park, burned incense, and listened to music under black lights. Because I had asthma, I never got into smoking marijuana, but I did protest the war and say goodbye to friends who went to fight in Vietnam. I fought for numerous causes and wore cut-off jeans that swept the dirty streets. Incidentally, I even brazenly wore the American flag slung like a scarf........

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