Meet Marietta   I’m Marietta Pereira, 61, a homemaker, a trained primary school teacher, and mother of two boys, currently living in Mumbai with my better half and navigating the empty-nest phase and silver years of our lives.   Advancing age comes with its challenges, but you're also more at peace with yourself in many respects.  I love being around kids, and my brief six-year spell of teaching first and third graders was some of the most rewarding years. Raising kids, as I learned later, is quite another cup of tea. I am what I am… You get what you see. I’ve come a long way from a shy and awkward little girl that I was to a moderately talkative woman participating in activities that keep me in the public eye to a small extent.( I serve as lector in the church I attend.)  I’m no paragon of virtue, but those who know me would say I am the proverbial ‘good girl.’ I’ve come into my own late in life, but then, as they say, “better late than never. " I c...

  Let’s Learn   From the time we are born, we learn how to sit, crawl, stand, walk, and talk. Then we learn from school, from our parents, from tuition, and from friends and peers. It never ends. As long as you learn the positive, you’re good. You might even learn a few lessons from your mistakes. On this learning journey, is there anything that we might learn from Gen Z and the millennials that we interact with, or are they just 'young and restless' in need of guidance?  Well, there might be stuff that we learn from them. The millennial and Gen Z children that I’m a parent to have taught me a few life lessons.   Resilience They are a resilient lot. They suffer from peer pressure, academic stress, and job loss, but more often than not, they find a way out and bounce back, sharper and more determined.   Quiet Perseverance   “You must never disclose your plans,” says my twenty-six-year-old. Let the task be accomplished, and then shout it...