The Friends You Only See Once in a While, How Sleep Quality Affects Blood Pressure, and Involving Family in Estate Planning

You're receiving this because you signed up on our website. Want to unsubscribe? Just reply to this email with the words “no thanks.”

First-time reader? Join 24,203 other seniors for free.

Fiction: The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel – A young woman raised in the wilderness of Eastern Europe uses her survival skills to help Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution during World War II.

History (Non-Fiction): The Rise and Fall of the British Empire by Lawrence James – This sweeping history traces the expansion of British imperial power across the globe and examines the political, economic, and social forces behind its eventual decline.

Memoir: The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr – This insightful exploration of memoir writing combines personal experiences, literary examples, and practical advice on transforming memories into compelling, truthful stories.

Self-Help: The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef – This thought-provoking guide explores how to overcome biased thinking, question personal assumptions, and approach difficult decisions with greater curiosity and intellectual honesty.

Romance: The Pairing by Casey McQuiston – Two former lovers accidentally book the same European food-and-wine tour, reigniting their rivalry and unresolved feelings during a deliciously complicated summer adventure.

No matter where you are in the process—an idea, an outline, a rough draft, or an almost-finished manuscript—we can help you get your book across the finish line.

ProofreadingServices.com and MemoirGhostwriting.com (both run by us) offer developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, proofreading, formatting, interior and cover design, ebook formatting, and publishing and marketing support.

Not sure what you need? Get a FREE publishing consultation here. We’ll hop on a call, look at where you are, and help you figure out the best path to a finished book.

Check a few boxes, and we’ll match you with trusted options and initial consultations—many completely free—across insurance, housing, travel, finances, and more. It takes about five minutes, and you’re not committing to anything—just seeing what can save you time and energy.

Some friendships don't happen over weekly coffee, regular phone calls, or random drop-ins. Instead, you might only see each other at the annual cottage weekend. Maybe you meet for lunch whenever someone visits town. Perhaps you get together every Christmas, spend a summer weekend at the same lake, or arrange dinner a few times throughout the year.

And somehow, those few occasions are enough to keep the friendship firmly in place.

There's something wonderful about sitting down with someone you haven't seen for six months and finding that the conversation immediately takes off.

There are pleasantries to exchange, of course, but longtime friends rarely need a lengthy warm-up. Within minutes, you're laughing about something that happened years ago, discussing what has changed since your last visit, and asking the questions you've been saving.

Because your time together is less frequent, you may also give it more attention. A three-hour lunch feels worth lingering over when you know it may be months before the next one.

Friendships centered around occasional meetings often develop their own rituals.

Perhaps you always meet at the same restaurant halfway between your homes, host an annual weekend getaway with the same group, or buy tickets to the same event every year.

Just as shared history deepens a friendship, so can shared traditions. That’s why you should protect those traditions when you can.

Put next year's date on the calendar before everyone goes home. Make the dinner reservation while you're still talking about getting together.

Sometimes friendships continue simply because someone takes the initiative to make the next plan a reality.

Friends who see each other infrequently won't necessarily know what happened on your grocery trip last Tuesday—and that's fine.

They may instead know the bigger story: where you've been, what you've worked through, what makes you laugh, and which subjects are guaranteed to get you talking.

There's value in being known across decades, even when someone hasn't witnessed every day along the way.

Frequency isn't the only measure of friendship. Some people are woven into your everyday routine; others appear only occasionally but remain important whenever they do.

A friendship can have plenty of space in it and still have strong roots. All it needs to bloom is the odd watering.

We're looking for seniors who are embracing life with enthusiasm, purpose, and adventure. Whether you're traveling the world, starting a business, volunteering, pursuing a passion, learning new skills, or simply making the most of every day, we'd love to hear your story.

Think that might be you?

Email [email protected] with a photo and a short bio. We may feature you in an upcoming edition of Seniors Magazine.

You’ve adapted to more changes in your lifetime than you probably give yourself credit for.

The discount: Carnival Cruise Line

What it gives you: Travelers age 55+ can qualify for special senior cruise discounts and rates on eligible sailings

How to claim it: Look for eligible senior rates when searching cruises and provide your age when booking

“The Summer I Worked at the National Park”
From the life overview of Barbara H., 78, Boise, Idaho. Shared with permission.

I still remember the summer of 1968 like it was yesterday. I was twenty years old, had just finished my second year of college, and wanted to earn enough money to pay my tuition without relying on my parents for help. That’s why I took a job at a small lodge near Yellowstone National Park. A girl from my dormitory had worked there the previous summer. She told me how beautiful it was but neglected to mention how cold the mornings could be.

I shared a cabin with two other young women. The three of us worked long shifts serving breakfast, changing beds, and answering questions from visitors. They always acted like we knew everything about the park. On my third day, a man asked me where he could see a moose. I had no idea what to say, so I pointed vaguely in the direction of the woods. He thanked me and disappeared for a while.

My favorite part of the job was the walk back to our cabin at the end of the day. The scent of fresh pine lingered in the air, and if we were lucky, we could see the mountains turning pink as the sunlight began to fade. There were times we would sit outside with cups of instant cocoa, chatting about all the random people we met on the job.

One night, a bear got into the garbage behind the kitchen. The manager ran out with a flashlight, shouting at us to stay inside. We watched from the windows as the bear knocked over a metal bin and helped itself to the scraps it found.

I went back to college in September with enough money for tuition. The smell of wood smoke had seeped into my suitcase permanently by then. For years afterward, whenever someone asked about that summer, I always told them about the bear. That story seemed more interesting than the job itself.

***

Want to preserve for future generations the stories, experiences, and wisdom that have shaped your life?
Have Your Life Overview Written

ChoiceFall – Interactive Story Adventure
What if you could change the direction of a story simply by choosing what happens next? This free interactive adventure lets you make decisions as the plot unfolds, leading you down unexpected paths and toward dozens of possible endings. With no downloads or registration required, it's an intriguing alternative to reading a conventional short story.

Splash Canvas – Paint With Sea Creatures
Forget ordinary paintbrushes. This playful digital art experience lets you drag animated octopuses and squid across a canvas, creating swirling colors and fluid patterns as you go. Each creature has its own painting style, while mischievous turtles can blend or erase your work. It's an unusual way to experiment with art without needing any supplies.

Frontier Airlines Issues Warning About Active Email Phishing Scam Targeting Passengers

This daily section is brought to you by MemoirGhostwriting.com, experts in capturing life stories for loved ones and/or the public.

Take a few minutes to jot down your thoughts. Even a few sentences are a memory preserved for loved ones. Some people begin by writing on their own—or even using AI tools—but many eventually decide they’d rather simply talk and have their story shaped into something lasting. That’s where we come in.

Do you want to ensure your story, values, and family history aren't lost?

A few carefully chosen words can capture an entire moment: rain tapping against a window, the first flowers of spring, or a bird calling from a bare branch.

That's the appeal of haiku, a Japanese form of poetry that invites writers to notice small details and express them with simplicity. You don't need previous poetry experience to enjoy writing it, and a single poem can take just a few minutes to draft.

Many people first encounter haiku as a three-line poem with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. While this is a useful beginner exercise, traditional Japanese haiku uses sound units that don't translate directly into English syllables.

Modern English-language haiku often favors three short lines without requiring an exact syllable count.

Haiku frequently draws inspiration from nature, seasonal changes, and ordinary moments. Rather than explaining an emotion directly, the poet creates an image that allows readers to experience it.

The Poetry Foundation's introduction to haiku offers additional background on the form.

Choose a simple observation from your day: a butterfly resting on a flower, steam rising from morning coffee, or leaves collecting beside a doorstep.

Write down what you can see, hear, or feel. Then reduce your description to its most interesting details.

For example:

After the rainfall
One small bird shakes the branches
Sunlight fills the leaves

Don't worry about making every line rhyme. Haiku generally doesn't rely on rhyme, and ordinary language often works better than elaborate descriptions.

Reading other poets can help you discover how much meaning a few lines can hold.

The Haiku Society of America offers educational resources and information about haiku events and publications.

You can also explore The Haiku Foundation's digital library to discover poets, collections, and discussions of the form.

Notice how successful haiku often place two images or observations together, allowing an unexpected connection to emerge.

Keep a small notebook or use your phone to record interesting moments throughout the day.

Try writing one haiku each morning, creating a collection inspired by your garden, or documenting the changing seasons through poetry.

You might even exchange poems with a friend or pair your favorites with photographs.

The goal isn't to produce a masterpiece every time. It's to develop the habit of noticing—and to discover how much beauty can fit into just a handful of words.

A private family website can provide one place to collect photographs, family stories, recipes, and memories. Relatives can visit from their own computers or phones, making it easier to preserve and share family history across generations.

Google Sites is a free option for creating a basic family website without coding. Visit sites.google.com, sign in with your Google account, and select Blank to begin.

Add pages for different topics, such as family photographs, holiday traditions, or memories of relatives. You can insert text, pictures, and files directly into your pages.

When you're ready, click Publish and choose a website address.

Before publishing, open the sharing settings and restrict access to specific people rather than making the site public. Family members may need to sign in with their Google accounts to view it.

You can give trusted relatives editing permission if you'd like them to contribute their own stories and photographs.

Remember that privacy settings control who can access the website, but invited visitors may still download or share its contents.

Keep backup copies of important photographs and documents outside the website. That way, your family's memories remain preserved even if the website is accidentally changed or deleted.

Today: Rhine Valley, Germany

The Rhine Valley is known for riverside villages, hillside vineyards, medieval castles, and scenic boat journeys. It’s an especially enjoyable way to experience Germany without constantly moving between large cities.

Ingrid’s Tip: Make the river part of your transportation, not just a sightseeing excursion. A daytime or week long river cruise between towns lets you rest your feet while watching castles and vineyards pass by.

Unscramble the letters to find a famous person, event, or object. Think you know it? Reply with your answer and show off your brainpower.

Today’s clue: Popular ankle-length socks often worn by teenage girls in the 1950s.

BYBOB CSOSK

Help a life story get told, earn thousands: Refer someone to MemoirGhostwriting.com and earn 12% of what they spend, or a 16% donation to your favorite nonprofit. Find out more here.

Explore flexible sales opportunities: CommissionOnly.com gives you access to flexible part-time, work-from-home commission-only roles you can apply to. Find out more here.

Disclaimer: Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, Seniors Magazine may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The content of the newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as financial, legal, or health advice. We may also share polling responses with advertisers to help keep this newsletter free.