Embrace the age you are

We spend an enormous amount of energy pretending aging isn't happening. There's a whole industry built to help women look as though we haven't aged, and almost nothing to help us grow older with intention ~ to meet our changing bodies, the shifting roles, the different seasons of life. Part of what we've lost is each other. Many of us move through life surrounded by people our own age, so women of different ages feel like strangers rather than guides. We end up learning about aging from advertising instead of from one another.

This weekend is an opportunity to gather women of all ages to celebrate each stage and age we find ourselves in. We will spend time naming a silent threshold we would each like to honour ~ a beginning, an ending, an invisible transition. Together, we will create a threshold to cross ~ grieving what needs grieving, celebrating what deserves celebrating, and saying out loud what needs to be said. You'll leave with a meaningful ritual practice to help you embrace the gift of aging.

I will be co-facilitating with Megan Sheldon. Megan is a cultural mythologist, humanist celebrant, and end-of-life doula living and working in North Vancouver, BC. She has created hundreds of ceremonies for people around the world, focusing on what she calls the ‘seemingly invisible moments of change’, such as pregnancy loss, organ transplantation, menopause, living funerals, and death anniversaries.

There is an art to growing older and it's best learned in company.

Who is this for?

Women of every age and stage who are seeking intergenerational community. Some may arrive mid-transition, others having crossed that threshold already. It may be connected to your body ~ perimenopause, a fertility journey, a diagnosis or an illness. For others, it may be connected to the rhythms of daily life ~ an empty nest, a career or marriage ending, caring for aging parents.

Some may come looking for women further along who can share their experiences, others may recognize they are those women and want to share their stories. You may not even know what you are moving through ~ you may simply feel drawn to this place, this space, this community. No ritual experience needed.

What to expect

Mornings begin gently, with time together or on your own. The heart of each day is in circle, where teaching, storytelling and ritual design help us name the thresholds we've crossed. There's time to walk in the forest, sit by the fire, nap, or fall into conversation with someone you've just met. Evenings belong to the group, as we create ceremony together.

So much of how we age is shaped by stories we never chose. Together, we'll release the narratives we've inherited about aging, mark a threshold that never got marked ~ a last period, a birthday, a diagnosis, an ending or a beginning ~ and step into the new stories we want to carry forward. Chloe and I will be alongside you throughout, and you'll leave with a ritual practice to take home.

Where you'll stay

We will stay and gather at Koerner Lodge, part of UBC's Loon Lake Retreat Centre in Maple Ridge ~ an hour from Vancouver, set among the trees on the shore of a quiet lake. Our lodge has three floors ~ on the main floor and lower level, there are twelve semi-private rooms, each with two single beds and a private washroom. On the upper floor, there are four family-style rooms, each with a queen bed + 3 singles and private washroom.

We also have our own fireside lobby, a dining room to ourselves, and a covered patio overlooking the water. Koerner Lodge is wheelchair accessible, with elevator service, accessible rooms and washrooms.

What you'll eat

We offer fresh buffet-style and catered meals. Meal times are 9am, 1pm and 6pm. We have our own private dining space, serving health-conscious and dietary-inclusive menus, such as:

• Breakfast: Fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, muffins, plus hot options like pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, and sausage.

• Lunch: Fresh salads, hamburgers, fish tacos, cookies, and dessert squares.

• Dinner: Freshly baked breads, seasonal vegetable and protein salads, hot entrees, and homemade desserts.

• Special Diets: Vegetarian, vegan, and other specific medical or lifestyle dietary needs are routinely accommodated with advance notice.

What's included

Koerner Lodge has en-suite rooms in three configurations, so you can choose what suits you: $975 shared, $1,100 semi-private, or $1,300 private. Every option includes:

• 2 nights en-suite accommodation at Koerner Lodge

• 6 meals: Friday dinner through Sunday lunch, plus snacks, teas and refreshments

• All circle work, teaching and ritual guidance

• A personalized ceremony session with Megan or Chloe

• A journal to write and reflect in

• All ritual materials and ceremony supplies

• A session in the cedar sauna, with an optional swim in the lake

What's not included

• Travel to and from Loon Lake ~ though we'll help organize a rideshare

• Personal expenses and anything outside the retreat program

• Alcohol ~ this is a BYOB weekend