"Hello Anabel's girls. I felt it was only right to share my story after the messages I've seen so many young girls send you.
I was 62 when I separated from my husband. I live outside Albania. After more than three decades of marriage and several years of both being retired, I decided to leave. There was no dramatic reason: there was no violence, there was no betrayal. It was just... we hadn't been together for years, we just lived in the same house. We didn't talk like we used to, we didn't share any interests or dreams. We lived by inertia.
I was tired of the idea of ??spending the rest of my life in a relationship where I felt alone. When I announced my decision, my friends and family were shocked. “Where are you going now?”, “At this age?”, “Where will you find someone else?” Or the most common: “Don't disturb the peace of old age.”
But I wasn't looking for peace, I was looking for life. And it was time to find it.
The beginning wasn't easy. My income was cut in half, I would get scared at night and feel lost. But every day I felt a little freer. I started taking care of myself differently, reading, going out more often, meeting people. I even opened a profile on a dating app hahahah, out of curiosity at first, but it soon became part of my personal adventure.
A year later, I met a man who surprised me. A little younger, but with a calm soul. We spoke a language I hadn't heard in a long time, of thought, of tender love, of sensitivity. We didn't need to pretend. We realized immediately that we had shared many similar sufferings and perhaps for the first time we felt unconditionally accepted.
Today, four years later, I feel reborn. I am not bothered by age, nor wrinkles, nor the past. I have strength, courage, desire to build even more. I have a passion for writing, for creating, for living without asking permission from anyone. I no longer care about "what others will say". I have wasted many years trying to be the woman I should be.
This "late" choice gave me a new life. And if any woman, young or "old" like me, who is reading this letter is at a crossroads, trapped between fear and desire for more, I say to her from the bottom of my heart: it is never too late to not accept less than you deserve.
"Life has no expiration date, girl. And self-love, at any age, is a revolution in itself," - written by a lady for Anabel, for the "Among Us" column.
Note: The article has been adapted by the editorial team for editorial purposes and clarity. Copyright Anabel.al / Reprinting without the permission of the editorial team is prohibited.
