Meet Dr. Kathy McCoy!

Gosh I have missed you! Christmas was wonderful and thoughts of you were often. I was praying that you were enjoying your day as much as I enjoyed mine. Soon I hope I will sit down and load my pictures and share the day with you but today I have a very special lady I wanted you to meet.

My Plans were to have her post on here by the first of the week and here it is already Thursday. When are these weeks going to slow down. Anyway please take a moment to meet Dr. Kathy McCoy! She writes a blog too and one that certainly you will want to bookmark. You can find her site Living Fully in Midlife and Beyond by clicking HERE.

Welcome her as my last Blogazine Guest of 2011. Who will be my first guest for 2012? If you want it to be you just send me your story. This is my small way of helping you meet new friends. Plus I so love reading these delightful parts of your lifes. Like I have mentioned before everyone has a story to tell.

I'm an L.A. native who moved with my husband Bob and our three cats to rural Arizona in 2010, retiring from everything but writing.

Writing has been my first profession all my working life. I have two journalism degrees -- Bachelors and Masters -- from Northwestern University and spent the first  15 years of my career writing full-time -- first as an editor of 'TEEN Magazine, then writing for most of the national women's magazines like Redbook, Family Circle, Womans Day, Ladies Home Journal and Glamour as well as Readers Digest and wrote a column called "Sex and Your Body" for Seventeen Magazine during most of the Eighties. I've written a dozen books for major New York publishers including the award winning "The Teenage Body Book" and "Understanding Your Teenager's Depression." Because of my books, I've done a lot of national television, including two appearances on OPRAH and seven  on The TODAY SHOW.

Publishing started changing drastically in the Nineties -- when entertainment conglomerates started taking over publishing houses and celebrity blockbusters became the norm. I had always written in the areas of health and psychology. So I decided to go back to graduate school for degrees in psychology, ending up with a Master's in Clinical Psychology and a doctorate in Human Behavior. I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist and worked both in psychiatric clinics and in my own private practice for 15 years before retirement. I loved working with patients and helping to make a difference in their lives. An unexpected bonus: how much I learned from my patients about courage and the resilience of the human spirit.

I've been married for 34 years to my husband Bob. Unfortunately, we don't have children but he was in the in the Big Brothers program for 23 years and mentored three boys during that time. The third one -- Ryan -- was matched with him at the age of 9. He is now 28 and will be getting his Master's degree in Psychology and Social Work (to become a psychotherapist) this coming May. He is like a son to us and we're so proud of him!



We're now living in an active adult community with great gym, swimming pools and lots of classes at an Arizona State University extension here on site.

I work out everyday -- hoping to lose all the weight I gained during the stress of working multiple jobs over the years -- and taught a class on blogging at ASU this fall. We've adjusted very happily to life in rural Arizona -- living halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. We don't miss L.A. traffic one bit!
I started my blog "Living Fully in Midlife and Beyond" in October 2010 to get an online presence (at my agent's urging) and to practice writing in the first person in preparation for a pair of memoirs I would like to do. But I quickly found that blogging is a pleasure in itself (rather simply a means to an end) and that there are many wonderful people with so much to say and share in the blogosphere. I enjoy reading everyone else's blogs at least as much as I like writing my own!
In my blog, I write about a lot of issues that come up in midlife and beyond. Sometimes I put on my therapist's hat and write about family issues -- finding a balance in one's relationship with adult children -- or helping one's marriage survive and thrive through the life changes that retirement can bring. And sometimes I write about my own life and what I've learned living through some very painful or joyous times. Quite often, these have something of a universal theme and sometimes they're deeply personal. In every case, I've been grateful for the frank, gracious and enlightening feedback from other bloggers. I feel that we're in a very close, loving community -- though some of us may live half a world apart!

Love

Kathy

Wow our Dr. Kathy has lead such a interesting life that each time I read this story I find something else about her that makes me wish I could meet her in person. I do feel like though as sweet as her emails are to me and belonging to her site that we have met. lol

Ok what is my wish for YOU for the New Year? Lot's of happiness comes to mind first. Care free days with sunshine so bright it warms your soul.  Healthier than you have ever been and your families too.
No fininacial worries for any of you. May you find joy and prosper in what your doing now and like me if you need a job I hope that comes the first week of the New Year. Of course I wish you LOVE and Peace with each new beautiful day and also Forgiveness to those that are causing you pain in your life.
Without forgiveness towards them you won't find these other wishes I have for you. (Yes I know that goes for me too and the Idiot)
Also lot's of wishes for a good year of Blogging and meeting new friends. Have I told you I have the best of the best in this world of blogging that come by often and leave me some of the funnest and sweetest comments you will find out here in Blogland. God am I Blessed with You as a friend.

Love to you and a Very Happy New Year
Maggie