When I was born in the early 1950s, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was around 68 years. That number has risen steadily over the decades—today it’s about 78 for the general population, with women living on average to 81 and men to nearly 76. The gap between men’s and women’s life spans is narrowing, but the more striking truth is this: we’re living longer, often much longer, than our parents or grandparents did.

I’m 72 now, and these numbers feel less like statistics and more like possibilities. The research I’ve been reading talks about something called the Third Age—the phase of life that begins once the children are grown, and retirement has either begun or is close. This stretch, researchers say, can last twenty or even thirty years before the Fourth Age arrives, the period associated with physical decline. That’s a lot of time—enough to build a whole second life.

I think often of my mother, who earned her Ph.D. at 53 and started a new career that lasted almost three decades. After my father passed away, she found a new partner and spent the next 29 years with her, traveling, writing, and living a life that, by many measures, was richer than the one she’d lived before. Watching her gave me a road map. It showed me that aging doesn’t have to mean narrowing down. It can mean opening up.

Of course, no one escapes the realities of getting older. There are limitations that arrive, sometimes suddenly. But I also find that life, post-70, has a certain clarity. The noise has quieted. There’s room now—room to think, to create, to rest, to connect. And if we’re lucky, room to explore the parts of ourselves that were left waiting during the busy middle years.

I’m hopeful that this next stretch of time—however long it may be—can be meaningful. That it will hold space for writing, for time with Ray, for travel, and for sitting on the porch doing nothing at all. I’m not rushing anymore. I’m not proving anything. I’m simply showing up—curious and grateful for this Third Age, this unexpected gift of more time.

I’d love to know: if you’re in this stage of life, how are you envisioning your Third Age? What has surprised you about it? What are you still hoping for?

Let me know. I’m listening.