When I finished She Let Herself Go (March 4th, 2024), the title stuck with me. So, I took that as another sign, and took it from there.

Last Sunday, I started a Facebook page by the same name: She Let Herself Go. If you haven’t visited it yet, please do. There are so many amazing women out there on amazing adventures, and I want to feature them and their travels, as well as mine. I aspire to inspire women–and men–of all ages, but especially women over 50.

I finished another trip around the sun this week. Not a milestone, but I believe every birthday, every year should be celebrated, no matter how old or how young. As long as you can walk and talk–and even if you can’t, as many of my patients don’t let that stop them, you can likely get out.

I excused myself from work that day, had a leisurely morning, and spent the afternoon with my husband who also excused himself from work in the afternoon. I chose our destination: Lindsborg, Kansas, just half an hour away from home. It’s a quaint small town, known as “Little Sweden.” The influence of its Swedish settlers is obvious, and the town citizens take great pride in its world-famous tourism.

They should. It’s a short getaway, one I like to take when I need to let myself go on a short budget of time. There are many others in this area; one need not go far to find points of interest and scenery in Kansas. Chances are, wherever you live, there are places, perhaps hidden gems, that you can let yourself go to when you need a quick refresher and a change of scenery.

There was a time in my not too distant past when obligations and limitations kept me from getting away as much as I do now. Family and work, time and money. The basic ones that keep most people from letting themselves go. Those obligations are still there to a lesser degree, and as I age, I continue to try to find more creative ways to make it all work. I used to be happy sitting in my home reading about other places; now I can’t sit still as long as I once did.

I realized I had a lot of people to visit in the US, so I took a map and plotted out those people in those places I wanted to visit. My trip last month was the first of many I hope to complete, hopefully more checkered flags soon.

Gail, Suzanne and I still like to go on getaways together far and near, but we also go with others. Suzanne is planning a beach trip this summer with a friend, and while Gail doesn’t currently have any trips on her agenda, she can usually find adventure in a typical day’s work–or romping about town with the other Mrs. Ropers featured in that last post.

I let myself go to Topeka, our state capitol, several weeks ago with two dear friends. We toured the state capitol building–a first for me–and took in the Dwight Yoakam concert. He is an incredible musician.

I let myself go all the way to the top of the capitol dome, even outside on the walkway.

But enough about me. Here’s what the amazing women on my new page are doing:

My friend Shari is hiking the Camino de Santiago trail (northern) in Spain right now with five other women, hiking 100 miles in seven days, staying in hostels along the way and packing only a backpack for the entire trip.

My friend “Captain Amy” just returned from 41 days at sea as captain/eco-tour guide. She went from Argentina to Antarctica and many places in between, educating and inspiring her guests to appreciate and preserve the natural beauty of our world. Like Gail, she makes an adventure out of her work.

The Day after my initial She Let Herself Go post, I picked up my friend Marilyn and we went to the Grand Canyon. It never fails to inspire.

In case those epic trips are out of your league at this point in your life, remember there is beauty and fun to take in close to home as well.

The panoramic beauty of central Kansas from atop Coronado Heights near Lindsborg

Just let yourself go.