RELATIONSHIP
Grandchildren can be one of life’s great delights. When you find a partner late in life, you may become a step-grandparent, which can bring great joy and also some challenges.
BY JENNIFER Y. LEVY-PECK, PHD AND CHARLES PECK | March 17, 2014 at 6:00 a.m.
Enjoy Life Together
Life is short. Enjoy it together! If you are lucky enough to have a loving partner in midlife, remember to share fun on a regular basis. This keeps your relationship strong and your heart merry.
Online Dating for the Older Set
We met online. Jennifer was living in a rural college town and found the pool of eligible men to be, shall we say, pretty shallow. Charles liked the idea of getting well acquainted with a woman before starting to date.
Lucky to Have You: Gratitude Enhances Relationships
When you find a terrific partner later in life, you are usually smart enough to appreciate how wonderful it is to be with that person. When you make a conscious effort to experience and express gratitude for your partner, you make a major investment in the success of your relationship.
Enjoying the Single Life
Since the title of this column is Magic at Midlife, it's probably obvious that we believe in joyous relationships. Yet we also realize that couplehood, like parenthood, is not for everyone. Some people choose to be single, and we celebrate that choice. Even those who would prefer to have a …
True Love
As Valentine’s Day approaches, true love is on our minds. Advertisements tell us that you have to give expensive gifts to show true love. Movies and television tell us that you have to jump into bed immediately to show true love. I believe that a real love story is as …
Sizing Up a Potential Partner
If you are looking for your own potential sweetheart, you want both your heart and your head involved in the decision. That’s usually easier to do if you identify your “must-haves” ahead of time and try to take an objective look at a dating partner before you get too involved. …
Sex in Midlife Relationships: Complicated But Wonderful!
There are two essential ingredients for great sex at midlife: love and a sense of humor. On the one hand, you may not have quite the energy or stamina you had in your twenties; on the other hand, you probably have enough experience to know what pleases you and how …
Upgrade Your Communication Skills
We can all use a tune-up on our communication skills, especially the ones we use in close relationships. Often, at the beginning of a relationship, we are sweeter than sugar, but as time goes on, it’s easy to lapse into irritability and unpleasantness when conflict arises.
Tending Your Relationship As You Tend to Aging Parents
As we get older, if our parents are still living, we will probably need to help care for them in some way. This can cause significant stress in relationships, particularly newer partnerships that have begun in midlife.
Finding Your Special Someone
It can be daunting to venture out into the “mature” dating world. How can you find a partner? Where should you begin? Here are some pointers to guide your search.
What Do You Want in the Long Run?
Whether you are exploring a current relationship, committed to a partner, or still looking for your “special someone,” clarifying your own long-term goals and values will be useful. Asking yourself “What do I want in the long run?” makes your choice of a partner clearer and makes it easier to …
Learning from Your Relationship History
Most of us begin to think about what we want in a relationship when we start dating (or thinking about it) as teens. There’s just one problem with this: the portions of our brain that are involved in rational decision-making are not fully formed in our youth.
When Extrovert Meets Introvert
Jennifer is a psychologist; Charles is a former Information Technology professional. Can you guess who is the extrovert, and who is the introvert? Extroverts gain energy from interacting with other people, and usually like to process information with others. Introverts generally gain energy from quiet time spent alone, and usually …
