I turned 60 in Puerto Rico. No party, no plans, no one organizing anything. Birthdays in a marriage just happen. Someone plans it, people show up, you blow out candles and pretend to be surprised.

When you're single and new to a city, turning 60 means you're sitting in a sparse apartment wondering what you're going to do with your evening. One of my new friends found out I had nothing planned and he and his wife took me out. I was more grateful for that than they probably realized.

The small kindnesses hit harder when you've lost the infrastructure you took for granted.