17 years later, he finally put a ring on my finger 💚

Most people are getting divorced at 60.

I got engaged. 💍😂

And because apparently I don’t do ordinary, it happened in Cartagena, Colombia.

Very Romancing the Stone!

Emeralds. Colombia. Adventure. A little glamour. A little madness. And two people who have been together for 17 years deciding:

Oh, what the hell. Let’s do it!

29 June 2026 — Engaged in Cartagena, Colombia 🇨🇴💚

We hadn’t gone to Cartagena intending to get engaged. We were simply having an adventure together. And naturally, being in Colombia, we went looking at emeralds. Because if you’re going to have a Romancing the Stone moment, Cartagena is a pretty good place to have it.

We had looked at rings, but hadn’t found the ring.

The night before we left, I announced that I didn’t need one.

Very sensible.

Very self-sacrificing.

Very me: “Don’t worry, I don’t need it.”

And then I caught myself. Why should I deprive myself of something beautiful? Why, at this stage of my life, should I automatically choose the sensible option?

Why not choose beauty?

Why not choose joy?

Why not choose the emerald?

Laurie wanted to buy me a ring.

I wanted a ring.

We simply hadn’t found the one.

So, with barely an hour before our taxi was due to take us to the airport, I said:

“Let’s go and look at that other emerald shop.”

And that’s when the magic began.

The first little shop was rather curious—emeralds mixed in with all sorts of touristy things. But when the assistant discovered we were looking for an emerald of at least two carats, everything changed. The shop was shuttered. And we were escorted two blocks away to the family’s main jewellery store.

Then came the safe. Locked and then opened.

Out came the emeralds.

So many emeralds.

It was fabulous!

At one point they put an extraordinary emerald on my finger worth some breathtaking amount of money. It was enormous. Dark. Magnificent. But not me.

For a few delicious minutes, I got to wear it. Definitely not mine. 😂

And then—there she was.

My emerald.

Not enormous.

Not ostentatious.

Just exquisitely, brilliantly green.

The colour of Colombia.

The colour of the jungle.

The colour of new beginnings.

And with its beautiful architectural setting, it reminded me strangely of the paintings I had begun creating in Panama.

A little Cathedral of Light for my finger.

And somehow, amidst all those emeralds and laughter and wonderful Colombian people…

after 17 years together…

we got engaged.

Later, my soul sister back in the Bay of Islands said: “I hope the proposal was romantic.”

And I thought: It was. Just not in the conventional way.

There was no restaurant full of people waiting for me to say yes.

No violinist.

No photographer hiding behind a palm tree.

No carefully rehearsed speech.

Instead there was Colombia.

There were Muzo emeralds.

There was spontaneity.

There was laughter. Unbelievable laughter.

There was courage.

There was the extraordinary history of two people who have already lived through 17 years of life together.

And there was that beautiful realization:

That after all this time we still choose each other.

By the time we reached Cartagena Airport, we had a new word for one another.

Fiancé.

Which, after 17 years, takes some getting used to. 😂

We celebrated our engagement at the airport with gin and tonic in plastic cups. As one does. Then we flew home. Back to Panama. Back to the jungle. Back to the life we are creating together.

And perhaps that’s why I’ve been thinking about something I recently read about the rise of “gray divorce.” People are reaching their 50s, 60s and beyond, looking at the years potentially still ahead of them and asking:

Is this really how I want to spend the rest of my life?

I think that’s a magnificent question. Because it doesn’t necessarily have to end in divorce. Sometimes the answer is:

Yes. But let’s make it even better. Let’s make a commitment to each other.

At this age, love isn’t about believing another person is perfect. Good God. We have 17 years of evidence to the contrary. 😂 It’s knowing someone can occasionally drive you completely mad…

and still be the person you want beside you on the next adventure.

It’s laughing.

Travelling.

Forgiving.

Growing.

Changing.

Beginning again.

Giving each other freedom.

And somehow, through all the messy humanity of it…choosing each other again.

There is something rather delicious about getting engaged later in life. No ticking biological clock.No need to impress anybody. No fantasy that marriage is going to magically create happiness.

We already have a life.

We’re simply choosing the next chapter of it together. And maybe that’s the great luxury of love at this age. You know that time matters. You know that joy matters. You know that beauty matters. But so does choosing love over and over again!

And you become much less interested in depriving yourself of any of them. So while everyone else is talking about gray divorce… we’re having a gray-haired engagement. 😂💍

And naturally ours involved Colombia, emeralds, gin in plastic cups and enough adventure for a sequel to Romancing the Stone.

Cassandra & Laurie
Engaged in Cartagena, Colombia
29 June 2026 💚

One long seduction.
One quick proposal.
One very passionate romance.

And one bloody magnificent emerald. 💍🌴😂

It’s Never Too Late

And perhaps that’s what I most want to leave you with.

It’s never too late.

It’s never too late to fall in love—or fall in love all over again.

It’s never too late to change your mind, choose the beautiful thing, take the adventure, begin again, or decide that the next chapter might just be the most exciting one yet.

We are so often taught that life gets smaller as we get older.

I don’t believe that anymore.

I think it can get richer. Freer. Wilder. More passionate. More beautiful.

At 60, I’m not winding down.

I’m painting bigger paintings.
Writing more books.
Living beside a Panamanian jungle.
Traveling to extraordinary places.
And…

getting engaged in Colombia. 😂💚

So if there is something quietly calling to you—a dream, a journey, a creative longing, a new beginning, a love you want to nurture—please don’t tell yourself you’ve missed your moment.

Your moment may still be coming.

Posted in: Blog