Welcome to The Second Act

By Sandy Burgham My mother used to instruct me not to take life too seriously, to be really present every day, as you never know when something unexpected could occur and end life as you know it. For her it was a blinding flash of light, then a bomb that destroyed her school, many friends, and in fact her whole

by Sandy Burgham So they left within three weeks of each other. Poof! Vanished, these human beings who took up so much of my oxygen during the last 23 years — one to Mexico, the other to Wellington. As they left on their respective adventures, they expressed concern. “Will you be ok Mum? I mean there is Dad, but .

by Sandy Burgham                           I live in fear that my children will never be able to earn money after a lifetime of me probably doing too much for them, and in particular, for encouraging my daughter to go to art school. They assure me that “you just don’t

By Sandy Burgham       I had a passing interest in the Santa Parade this year as not only did it pass our apartment but I couldn’t help noticing that Santa had entered into the gender debate i.e the usual player had been pushed aside after commenting that Santa could not be female because Santa did not have boobs.

By Sandy Burgham   Like most-mid lifers I swing from thinking I should live like there’s no tomorrow, to ensuring I am making prudent choices that might see me through another 30 to 40 years. So as I was sauntering along in a carefree manner to get coffee at the airport recently, wearing what I thought to be boots of

by Sandy Burgham   I’m really trying to get with the social media programme like, “normal people” but I just can’t seem to get the point of it. Until around seven years ago, I wasn’t even on Facebook, but fearing that I was heading to 50 and being left behind, I hired a pointy-headed friend who made a living up-skilling

By Sandy Burgham     I am mopping up my degree this year with two papers taken for sheer enjoyment, one of them being the history of NZ popular music. By now, I am well used to being the oldest one in the class, but this particular paper has me considering my age. Aside from the fact that my classmate

By Sandy Burgham     The conversation goes like this. Young person: “I don’t really know what I want to do with my life.” Parent: “Do what you love.”   This is both helpful and unhelpful, but what usually kills any potential in this conversation is the chaser, thinly veiled as good “practical advice”, which is a lecture on financial

by Sandy Burgham   I noted with some interest a new research report out of the UK, and picked up by media in NZ, that women start to feel invisible as they age. Really? My friend in her mid-50s has indeed complained for some time that she increasingly notices people not noticing her, particularly in cafes and retail outlets, where

by Sandy Burgham     I may have been the only one scribbling notes while listening to — namedrop alert — President Obama at that fancy schmancy dinner recently. While his observations on leadership were insightful, the one that has stuck with me is about when to give up power, when to stand aside to let younger, more relevant voices