We are excited to be building a reciprocal mentoring culture in Second 50, where women can both give and receive wisdom and support. Mentoring is a proven way to help you plan and manage life transitions. As you listen to others’ stories, you will see how quickly you will start to believe that you can navigate your own changes and challenges with ease and grace. 

It’s 12 months since a group of diverse women came together to pilot the concept of a Second 50 community. What started as a simple passion project has evolved towards our goal of helping Australian women aged from midlife onwards feel valued and make positive changes for themselves and the world. To mark this incredible year of growth and connection, I’d like to share ten Second 50 insights. I hope some of them resonate with you and even spark some insights about your own Second 50 journey.

Have you got time for a cuppa while we have a small chat? If you do have a moment – even 5 or 10 minutes – then please go grab your favourite. OK, cuppa in hand? I’m keen to have a chat about women experiencing violence and isolation. We all know this is an important conversation, but it can also be a hard one. So, I promise to keep this short (ish) today.

Have you ever had a chance meeting that led to a profound conversation that’s left you with a completely unexpected new perspective? That is exactly what happened in July this year when I met Wendy Hall, founder of Dementia Doulas International and Dementia Doulas Australia.

Recently, two Sydney-based Second 50 women – mortgage broker Teresa Cahill and real estate vendor agent Bernadette Hayes teamed up to host a fabulous in-person evening workshop in Sydney: Real Estate and Finance for Midlife Women. Below I’ve shared four key takeaways from the workshop. The good news for Second 50 women is that these two experts will be running a virtual version of this workshop for our whole Second 50 community soon!

We’re used to the idea of spring cleaning your house, but did you know that the idea can fit perfectly for other elements of your life? Do you know that feeling when things start piling up and, suddenly, your once-clear path feels like it’s disappeared under a landslide of to-dos? I was right there a few weeks ago. Then, like a lifeline, a few prompts from the Second 50 community nudged me to pause, breathe, and make some shifts to get back on track.

A family member returned from living in the US last year, bringing his family with him. Within a few months, he had changed jobs, ended a 15-year marriage and moved house. That’s a lot of change in a short period of time. What is it that compels us to make more changes when we are already in a state of flux? It turns out that research has shown that the start of a new life chapter can give people the impression of a blank slate.

Like many people I’ve been feeling increasingly distressed about gendered violence. I’ve been reading and having conversations with friends but felt stranded on two levels. Firstly, I didn’t know where to start. How could I do something that might make a meaningful difference to what felt like a hopeless situation? Secondly, despite feeling like I was across the issues enough to have a conversation about it, I couldn’t manage to engage my family of males on the topic.

At age 60, Grace* had a good job, a circle of friends and, despite some financial stresses, enjoyed a life full of books, art and her favourite footy team. Fast forward three years to 2022 and her life was very different. An exciting and well-paid new job turned out to be a nightmare of toxic micro-management and she had relocated to another state to take on the complex (and often thankless) role of caring for her ailing mother.

Respected wellbeing expert and Second 50 member, Thea O'Connor, shared some sobering health trends about women in mid-life during our March Sage Advice Live session on healthy habits for Second 50 Women. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that potentially detrimental health habits can creep up on women during their 'peak-demand' phase of life - when many juggle significant work and caring duties and life transitions.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the concept of 'eldership'. For some reason, I associate it strongly with being the oldest in my family. With one parent still alive, I can't possibly be an elder, can I? Yet, in indigenous cultures, the concept of eldership is closely aligned to the notion of leadership. Elders earn their place in the community and are not necessarily the oldest. So, as I examine my life, have I earned the right to think of myself as an elder?

Recently my 93-year-old mother misplaced her walking stick. I’m the first family member she told, but being a plane flight away, I wasn’t much help. I reached out to my 62-year-old cousin Miriam, who lives around the corner from my mum. She was in a whirlwind of caregiving, including nursing her adult niece, weekly childcare for her toddler granddaughter and she’d just whipped up a rice salad for a friend undergoing cancer treatment. Here's the twist: Miriam also has a senior full-time job that requires long hours and travel to remote Queensland communities.

Are you prepared for navigating aged care? If we are blessed with a long life, then ageing, aged care, dementia and end-of life care will impact all of us. For something so unavoidable – for loved ones as well as for ourselves – I’ve realised how common it is to be woefully unprepared. This Second 50 Aged Care Primer might help.