I have no advice to offer—just a bit of encouragement. I am ten years older than you are, and though I am in good health and am often told that I look younger than my age, there is no denying the lines and creases that have appeared on the face of that man in the mirror. And having worked in social services most of my life, I have no accumulated wealth to attract those sweet young things who are moving on up. And yet ...


I am having the time of my life and have never been happier. I have to watch my pennies, but I live quite literally in paradise (Hawaii), have a long-distance polyamorous relationship with the love of my life, a weekly fuck buddy who is ten years younger than myself, occasional visits from a sexy young guy half my age who is into the “daddy” scene and friends of all ages. Not bragging about any of that because other than retiring back to the islands, I didn’t plan any of it ... it just gradually fell into place.

To sum up, if we are open to it and willing to push our boundaries a bit, the universe does retain the power to surprise us—often in a good way.