A Mom, on Getting Older

I was watching a segment on CBS Sunday morning on Josh Seftel’s mother, Pat. She and her husband moved down to Florida 20 years ago only for him to suddenly pass away 10 years into their adventure. Pat began the next phase of her life by making new friends and creating a new space for herself. I remember coming across them during Covid, when everything was on lockdown. Jeff would call his mother on Facetime and they would chat about daily things. Those chats would be punctuated by deep life questions Jeff would ask his mother. Today’s segment was about the tough decision she had to make to move back up north to be around family. She had just lost her best friend and her health was deteriorating. With her kids’ help, she began to downsize. But how do you get rid of all the memories that represent your life from the last 60-70 years? She had to stop a lot, the emotions and the physical act of packing appearing to take a bit of a toll on her. She’s now settled into her new space, making new friends, and trying to figure out where they packed her underwear. And she’s still answering the tough questions her son posits, “What advice do you have for other older people in your shoes?”

“It’s hard saying goodbye to the things you know,” she replied, “but it’s kind of exciting thinking about going somewhere new and exciting.”

There’s so many life lessons packed into that short 10-minute segment. It shows how healing an adventurous spirit can be. It shows how much having a support group, whether it’s family or friends, can help someone heal and grow. It shows how much wisdom our older generation can pass on to us, if only we ask. It shows how life can go on and still be fulfilling, after a tragedy that has the capacity to take away our joy in life. I’m still thinking through how this little mom/son segment can help me with my own life, but I wanted to throw the story out there for the world to read, in the hopes that it can speak to someone else and give them joy and hope in a world that needs it more than ever.

Happy Mother’s Day.

References:

Seftel, Joshua. “Josh’s mom on making a move.” CBS News, May 11 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/video/joshs-mom-on-making-a-move/

Seftel, Joshua. “My Mom, by Joshua Seftel.” YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwBoQZPcMB02M4i88ZY09HyuPC6u7ZapW