Life's Funny...Until It's Not™ - The Connections We Didn't Know We Needed

Life's Funny...Until It's Not™ - The Connections We Didn't Know We Needed

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2565947/fan_mail/new] I almost didn't go. The introvert in me had an excuse ready. What happened when I showed up anyway changed how I think about connection. In this episode, I'm digging into connection: what it really means, why we need it more than we think (especially after 55), and what it costs us — physically and emotionally — when we lose it. The U.S. Surgeon General has declared loneliness an epidemic affecting nearly half of all U.S. adults, and the health risks are real: heart disease, stroke, dementia. I'll share my story of that luncheon in Milford, Delaware, and the connections I didn't know I was ready to make. Then in Food for Thought, we explore intergenerational friendship — why a friend from a different generation might be exactly what you need — and a Washington State program called Find Your People that I'd love to bring to Delaware. Finally, in What I'm Learning, I get honest about slipping toward isolation and what pulled me back out. Question of the Week: When was the last time you almost talked yourself out of showing up — and what happened when you went anyway? Connect with me at R2RB.com or email info@r2rb.com [info@r2rb.com]. New episodes air the first and second Sunday of each month. Because Life's Funny…Until It's Not™.

Life's Funny...Until It's Not™ - The Version of You That No Longer Fits

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2565947/fan_mail/new] What happens when the version of yourself you've been living no longer fits? Not the job. Not the house. You. In this episode of Life's Funny…Until It's Not™, host Deb LaMotta explores what it means to shed the identity you've been wearing for decades, the one that took care of everyone else, kept things running, and showed up for everybody but yourself. It's not a switch you flip. It's a daily choice. Sometimes an hourly one. Deb shares her honest reaction to Meredith Maran's memoir The New Old Me: My Late-Life Reinvention, a book about finding yourself in your sixties after loss, after a long marriage ends, after the life you thought you were living turns out to be a version of a life, not the whole thing. The parallels to her own first year of retirement hit close to home. In Food for Thought, Deb tells the story of Barbara, a woman who spent thirty years in Florida carrying a childhood dream of living in Europe. At 62, during COVID, she had a now-or-never moment. Eight months later, she was on a plane to Portugal, alone, with no contacts, no language, and no map. She chose a small fishing village in the Algarve called Santa Luzia and started over. Four years later, she's still there. In What I'm Learning, Deb gets real about exhaustion, the kind that comes from decades of reinvention, loss, and always being the one who keeps going. And what it looks like to give yourself permission to rest, even for a moment, before turning the next page. This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like a nomad in their own life. Anyone who has kept a pair of jeans that no longer fit because maybe, someday, they will again. Anyone who suspects there's a version of themselves they've been holding back — and wonders if it's too late to go find her. It isn't. Life's Funny…Until It's Not™ is part of the R2RB Network, Where Independent Voices Build Legacy. Find Deb on Facebook and Instagram at R2RBroadcasting.

Life's Funny...Until It's Not™ - Permission to Start Over with Special Guest Dennis Young

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2565947/fan_mail/new] What happens when you finally run out of excuses? In Episode 5 of Life's Funny…Until It's Not™, Deb gets honest about the dreams she's started — and stopped — over the years. The antique shop, she collected pieces for and then gave away. The network she almost shut down for good. And the moment she stopped hiding behind circumstances and asked herself the harder question: why do I keep stopping? In Food For Thought, meet Dennis Young — Delaware artist, retired psychiatrist, and owner of Mo'zArt Gallery in Historic Old New Castle. At 70 years old, Dennis opened an art gallery after 30 years away from painting. Named 2024's Best in Delaware by Delaware Today, Dennis has one rule for anyone who walks into his gallery and says, "I can't": Don't ever say that again. In What I'm Learning, Deb talks about routines — the ones she keeps, the ones she doesn't, and why "not quitting" might be the only goal that actually matters. This episode is for anyone who has been circling something. Waiting for the right time. Telling themselves it's too late. It isn't.

Life's Funny...Until It's Not™ - Solitude vs Loneliness - Knowing The Difference

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2565947/fan_mail/new] Life's Funny…Until It's Not™ There's a parking lot I need to tell you about. Last Friday, I drove to my local senior center — membership in hand, good intentions loaded — pulled in, saw the lot was full, and drove right back out. Didn't park. Didn't go in. Didn't even turn off the engine. And I'm the one who hosts this podcast. In this episode of Life's Funny…Until It's Not™, I get honest about the year that pulled me inside — the caregiving, the grief, the calendar that went from impossibly full to very, very quiet — and what happened when I tried to find my way back. (Spoiler: I joined every Facebook group I could find at midnight. The women in those groups are not playing.) We talk about what loneliness actually is — and it's not what most of us think. We dig into what the research says about loneliness and health in the 55+ community, including one study result that genuinely surprised me. And we talk about the difference between solitude and loneliness, because they are not the same thing, even though we treat them like they are. In Food for Thought, we look at what the experts actually say about why loneliness is a health issue — not just a feelings issue — and three practical strategies that researchers say actually work. And in What I'm Learning, I sat back down at my keyboard after a long time away. What happened next is the whole episode in one moment. If you've ever felt like the world kept moving while you were busy surviving — this one is for you. 🎙️ Life's Funny…Until It's Not™ is produced by the R2RB Network — Where Independent Voices Build Legacy. Listen: Buzzsprout | R2RB.com Connect: deb.lamotta@r2rb.com [deb.lamotta@r2rb.com]

Life's Funny...Until It's Not™ - SWIPE RIGHT OR WALK AWAY - DATING LATER IN LIFE

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2565947/fan_mail/new] We’re going to talk about something that a lot of us are navigating — or at least thinking about — which is dating later in life. Because let me tell you, swiping right is not the same as passing notes in homeroom. Not even close. Then we’re heading into Food for Thought, where I’m going to share something that made me stop when I saw it. Something that has everything to do with what it feels like to be told you’re past your prime — and then proving everyone wrong. And we’ll wrap up with What I’m Learning — my ongoing adventure in being a total beginner. This week? It’s personal. It’s got keys. And it’s proof that you’re never too old to try something that terrifies you just a little. Three segments, one big idea: we are not done. We are just getting started on the chapter that might actually be the best one yet. Because life is funny… until it’s not. And when it’s not? That’s when the real stories begin.