Three Wise Men and an Old Dog
How One Guy Is Making the Most of His Empty Nest

I won't even ask if this sounds familiar: Children are grown and gone, or in high school with one foot out the door. You are already retired, or at or approaching retirement—both bedazzled and bedeviled by the freedom and opportunity that confront you. If this didn't describe you, you probably wouldn't be reading Empty Nest. What follows is a first-hand account of one person's strategy for taking advantage of an empty nest to—I'm not modest about this, nor am I as grandiose about it as it's going to sound—bring about meaningful and permanent change in an area where the sum of the lessons he’s learned through his life's work can apply . . .

Whaddidya Say?
My Love-Hate Relationship with Hearing Aids

Okay. So. I have a confession to make. I have hearing aids. You didn’t know that, did you? So, here we are. It’s not like I wanted them. And it’s not like I wanted anyone to know about it, really. But I think it’s important to talk about it, to take one for the team, so to speak: Somebody’s gotta do it. So, I’m here to say: If you need hearing aids, get them. Figure out a way to pay for them. If you do it right, they’ll work, you’ll get used to them, and no one will know you have them. Finally, you’ll be glad you did it. If you can’t hear, you don’t know what you’re missing. But, I didn’t always see things that way . . .

Italy: Why I Went, What I Did, and Why You Should Go Somewhere Far Away, Alone (or Almost Alone), at Least Once in Your Life
Part 3: Highlights of Cinque Terre and Lake Como

The drive to Cinque Terre, in the Ligurian region of Italy, was not long, but it was arduous. A stop in Pisa (to lean on its famous tower and take some photos) aside, the trip took just under three hours. Slow speeds on hairpin curves, however, marked our descent to the town of Monterosso al Mare, the northernmost of the five Cinque Terre. We were excited! Tammy parked in a municipal lot at the top of the hill. Then, because no cars were allowed into this tiny seaside town, we bumped our wheeled luggage along the cobblestone streets as we made our way to our hotel. As we neared the bottom of the hill, we were rewarded with our first glimpse of the Ligurian Sea (which is really just a cove of the greater Mediterranean) . . .

Real People Empty Nesting:
Laurie Halse Anderson: Tackling the Tough Topics

In her novels for young adults—and their parents—New York Times best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson tackles tough issues that concern teens: fitting in, college and other life choices, eating disorders, rape, and life with a war-veteran parent. In fact, as someone who had trouble learning to read as a kid and later eschewed symbolism (and literature by “dead white men”) in high-school English class, Anderson not only became a writer, but she also mastered the literary devices needed to tell an honest, riveting story . . .

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