Skylar Liberty Rose

08/26/2024

It’s been a very long time since I posted anything here! I just logged on after many months and had a number of messages. Apologies for being absent but I’m just not a FB person these days. I’ve tried!

I’ll reply to each message but I also wanted to share some general ways to be in touch with me/my work since this account is pretty much an archive now.

Social media wise I’m only really on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skylarlibertyrose/

I share weekly on Substack, including entries from my new project The Year of 50, a documentary diary exploring aging, identity, perimenopause and the stories beneath the stories. My original 2020 diary, A Woman in the World, is featured in the National Women’s History Museum and the new project is a continuation of that. It’s real and raw and I love piecing it together: https://substack.com/

I’ve been a teacher on Insight Timer for the last couple of years and I have a number of talks, meditations, and courses there including:

🌟 Visible: The Ultimate Pro-Aging Program
🌟 Aging Courageously: A Guide to Goal Setting & Purposeful Living
🌟 The Weekend Revival: Simple Rituals to Restore Your Spirit

You can connect with me on Insight Timer here: https://insighttimer.com/skylarlibertyrose

And of course my website has everything in one place: https://www.skylarlibertyrose.com

I’m still very much involved in all things pro-aging and there’s some exciting things in the pipeline. Hope you are all well and please do connect with me in all/any of the ways above. I’m always glad and grateful to build community.

Oh, and I turned 50 last month! What a privilege it is to be alive.

10/07/2023

What an amazing day! Not only did I get to chat with lovely (and hug again!) but I got to be in a room full of people with the most incredible energy AND soak up so much knowledge and wisdom about all things menopause. Thank you for such a valuable symposium. It was validating, uplifting, often hilarious, and a beautiful reminder of our power 🔥

I also got to hang out with again, see inimitable style IRL, as well as meet some beautiful new friends

🤗 It was a day of extroverting but this introvert is feeling happy and grateful ❤️

10/05/2023

I shared something to Substack yesterday that wasn’t the post I’d planned to publish. Far from it. But when I sat down to write what I’d originally intended, the words just wouldn’t come.

Instead, I asked myself what I’d share with the world if I wasn’t afraid. And then the words came tumbling out, almost faster than I could catch them.

I expected to get some unsubscribes (and I did) but I also received more email responses and comments than I’ve had on any other post, perhaps ever.

This beautiful thing happened where women, many of whom have never interacted with me before, replied and shared their own things that they weren’t afraid to tell me. Things that some of them had never shared with anyone before. It touched me to my core.

I’m so glad I wrote the words that wanted to be shared and not the post I’d originally planned. Truth and courage are at the heart of everything I do. But this share was especially truthful.

If you’d like to read it (or listen to it) hit the link: https://open.substack.com/pub/skylarlibertyrose/p/things-im-not-afraid-to-tell-you?r=b59oy&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

And thank you to everyone who emailed me. I’m working my way through replying but I’m so grateful for your own truthful shares and for trusting me with them ❤️

10/04/2023

I sat down to write to you about something else entirely and the words just wouldn’t come. Sometimes it happens that way. The planned piece suddenly evaporates before it’s even formed. I used to try to force the words out, believing that it was a matter of discipline and perseverance, and that I simply needed to try harder and focus my distracted mind.

But aren’t we all tired of trying harder?

Instead, I thought about what I’d tell you if we unexpectedly found ourselves together on a sofa with cups of tea, or in a field with tall grass and just enough sunshine to warm us. What I might let slip as a substitute for small talk. What I’d say if I wasn’t afraid.

The only time I’ve ever shared that openly was in an email to my Patreon group. Five minutes after I pressed send, one of my patrons cancelled her sponsorship and never contacted me again.

09/22/2023

When it’s a perfect September day and you get to meet your online friend IRL for the first time and stroll through Central Park talking about all the beauty and difficulty of midlife.

What a joy it was to hug you in person, Katie! 🤗

For anyone who doesn’t know please allow me to introduce you ⬇️

Katie is the host and creator of A Certain Age podcast, a show that’s all about helping us age out loud.

Katie has had some phenomenal guests on the show and is making a very real difference in the lives of midlife women.

The care and intention that she pours into each episode is clear to anyone who tunes in. There are so many incredible topics covered and I highly recommend checking them out.

09/15/2023

Last year we had hot chocolate in Paris and this morning we had coffee and tea in NYC ☕️ I wonder where we’ll end up next?!

One of my favorite things about aging is knowing myself more intimately. There’s no keeping up appearances, no trying to fit in with the “right” crowd. Only a deep desire to connect intentionally and meaningfully with my people. So grateful to have as one of those people 🤗

We spoke about ALL the things and dreamed some dreams out loud. How you feel when you’re with people (and afterwards) is such a strong sign. I’m feeling grateful, nourished, energized 😊

09/09/2023

Visiting Upper Antelope Canyon was such a highlight this summer! It’s been on my list for a while and it didn’t disappoint 😍

We opted to visit Upper Antelope rather than Lower Antelope because apparently there are some ladders involved in Lower Antelope and that is *not* my thing (I once had a situation trying to get down a loft bedroom ladder in a cabin in Vermont and Leon thought we might have to call for help 😂)

Also, Upper Antelope has the light beams which were simply stunning.

We had an amazing Native tour guide, Lydell, from who was incredibly helpful in giving us all kinds of history about the canyon and surrounding land and people.

There are tours by other operators happening constantly, but they’re timed so you get to have photo ops throughout the tour and we didn’t feel as though we were being rushed.

I’ve always loved traveling and experiencing new places. I don’t plan to stop anytime soon! Midlife can be full of adventures 😊

❓What places are on your bucket list?

08/02/2023

Here, in the first week of my forty-ninth year, all I know for sure is that life is fragile and surrender is hard. In the briefest breath of a second, everything can change. In any given direction. When it comes to who we love, regardless of our age or theirs, decades bend into days, and at the end of it all we only really remember how we felt during our shared time together, not the detail of what we did.

In the first week of my forty-ninth year, all I know for sure is that life is fragile and surrender is hard. In the briefest breath of a second, everything can change. In any given direction.

08/01/2023

I turned 49 a few days ago. It wasn’t quite the birthday I had planned. I was pet sitting and one of the pups, Bobo, got very sick so the day was taken over by vet visits and caring for him. It turned out to be pancreatitis.

I’ve been caring for Bobo since he was 1 (he’s almost 10 now) and suffice to say he’s one of my very best buddies. When someone you love is seriously ill, the whole world shrinks down immediately. Very little else matters other than them being ok.

It was such a horribly stressful day. There were tears! But he’s turned a corner and is doing much better now 🙏 So we were able to head out yesterday and have some sushi and belated birthday cake.

I’m grateful to have overcome my own health issues and still be here to see 49. I’m grateful that Bobo is doing better. And I’m grateful for my community and all the ways we uplift and support one another as we navigate each new year that aging gifts us with.

07/07/2023

When you’re traveling in the desert and you don’t have a cold bag but your hormone therapy needs to be kept chilled so you’re going from place to place with your estrogen in a cup of ice and trying to remember not to leave it behind anywhere 🤦‍♀️

06/30/2023

Nothing better than meeting online buddies IRL 🤗 Loved catching up with yesterday! It was a perfect NYC summer afternoon and we got to walk and talk and then chill and chat in beautiful Bryant Park. Social media can be a fickle place but I’m forever grateful for some of the amazing friendships that have blossomed from these little square boxes.

Ann Marie is doing some incredible work as a journalist with 25 years of experience, now focusing on midlife and peri/menopause. Do check out her page (and her Substack!)

06/23/2023

So, I watched the first two episodes of And Just Like That last night (don’t worry, I’m not going to post any spoilers, mainly because I’m not sure there are any 🤷‍♀️).

I was sooo excited about the new season. In case you hadn’t already noticed, I’m a huge fan of the original show and I loved the first season of AJLT. But I couldn’t seem to get into it last night.

I have a theory as to why!

Firstly, I’ve been watching reruns of SATC. And I mean ALL of them. I’ve binged every episode from start to finish over the past few months. So when I tuned in to the new episodes, suddenly I was no longer back in the nostalgia of the SATC heyday, but brought abruptly back to the present time instead. And I found myself yearning for what once was.

This is part and parcel of aging. We can sometimes get stuck in our heads about what life is “supposed” to look like and how we want things to still be. But all of life is change, and we prevent ourselves from living fully in the moment if we’re always looking back.

Interestingly, one of my top 5 Clifton Strengths is Futuristic. I’m energized by the idea of a better future world and the part I hope to play in shaping it. I’m a dreamer who sees visions of what could be and I get frustrated about feeling stuck in the past. But apparently this doesn’t always apply to TV shows 😂

I’m still excited to see the rest of the series unfold and I’ll keep reminding myself that change is a beautiful and necessary thing.

What are your thoughts? Are you nostalgic for all things past, or do you embrace today’s/tomorrow’s world?

P.S. Whether it’s 1998 or 2023, I’ll always be a Carrie 🥰