Women's Issues Midlife And Beyond
“It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.†– J.K Rowling It was one of those moments you feel like slapping your forehead and wondering why you hadn’t thought of it like that before. I was attending a meeting on “aging with gusto†hosted by the Vital Aging Network when the ah-ha instance hit. The… Read More
“When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.†–Bette Davis Cathy, a trim and attractive woman, age 75, leaned in close before whispering, “I always find it interesting who we give our power to.†She then cocked her head and gazed at a group of men sitting at a nearby… Read More
The Backstory: May I tell you a sweet story? When I was a kid, my dad asked me to bake cookies for him to take to work. He had a construction job that kept him away from the farm Monday through Friday and liked to have “a sweet taste of home†with him. (Mom was not a great baker, so… Read More
Walking through our local Target store the week before Easter was akin to being an Oompa Loompa. I felt small as I walked through the canyon-like aisles of brightly colored Easter candy, baskets, fake grass, and stuffed toys. Small, and solidly in midlife. In what seems like a second ago, I was buying Cadbury eggs and Paas egg dying kits… Read More
“Thanks for the scarf.  It goes well with my Easter outfit!” Easter is a time to break out the pastels and spring colors.  Recently Bridget attended a mini-Playshop at my daughter’s home in Faribault and painted this lovely scarf. Like so many women faced with a strip of white silk, she was unsure if she could create a scarf worth wearing…. Read More
Do you know someone who is a natural storyteller? Someone who lures your attention, captures it, and never lets go? I do. It’s my son. Over the years, he has told me stories that have left me breathless from laughing and crying. He has a way of using facial inflection and voice variations that bring his words to life. Let… Read More
How do you do it? What is your fortune cookie modus operandi?  Do you crack open the cookie and read the fortune first, or do you crack, nibble, read, and then eat some more? Do you read your fortune and then, if you don’t like it, steal your husband’s? (Not that I would do that, but I think I’ve… Read More
So. I’ve never been the mom who had umpteen photos of her kids in her wallet.  I withstood the withering glances of women who asked to see pictures of my kids as I said, “I don’t have any.†Somewhere there is small print that I didn’t read in the mommy contract: Have current photos of your awesome kids at all… Read More
You’ve been there, right? Your day was crazy, nonstop, go, go, go. You’ve barely had a moment to yourself, and when you did you dribbled coffee down the front of the white shirt you just had dry-cleaned. Fortunately, you keep a sweater on hand and can cover up the mocha cappuccino Grande that has become wearable art. A tension headache… Read More
Me (thinking out loud): What shoes should I wear to the dental convention? There’s always a lot of walking. Is it possible to be comfortable with a high heel? Comfort and style? Ack!  I have nothing in my closet! (Head tilted towards the heavens, arms splayed wide for dramatic effect.) Hubby: Yeah. You’ll notice I’m losing sleep over what to… Read More
Can you hear it? Floaty strains from The Godfather theme song? There’s beauty trembling with fear in each note. Who’s going to die in some bloody horrible way just as s/he lets fly with a snarky one-liner or haughty “go to hell†laugh? I mention this because I think our cat, Pudgy, is in the mob. And not just in… Read More
“Honesty is the key to a relationship. If you can fake that, you’re in.” — Richard Jeni Dear Tad, This morning I woke to the sounds of your soft breathing. The peach-colored stubborn winter sunrise kissed your face, and made me want to kiss it too. Beneath the tumble of blankets—the ones I toss upon you during the night when… Read More
Mother Nature had a bad case of dandruff yesterday and left us with more white flakes than promised by our local meteorologists. I admit it irks me when I tune into a weather report, base my day on the information the computer “models†give, and then ka-blewee. Either we get nary a whiff of precipitation, or we get the mother… Read More
“You have to know that an older man cannot hang from a chandelier.” –Dr. Ruth “It’s a great way to save water,†said my husband. It was, and is, his not so subtle way of saying he’d love it if I’d take a shower with him. And yet, somewhere along the way, the sexiness of lathering up together has lost its… Read More
 The Title, Fifty Shades Of Grey, Was Already Taken I wanted a sunny day. Okay, maybe a whole day of sunshine was getting greedy. I would–do-cartwheels-even-though-I’d-probably-break-a-hip-if-I-did–settle for a few paltry hours of the yellow stuff. But no. This day, like so many others of late, held all the appeal and color of a dank and dingy dishrag. Remember dishrags? Do… Read More
Eight little black eyes peered at me from the fireplace mantel. They were inanimate eyes, so why did I clearly see mirth and more than a hint of taunting? As you may recall, my sweet husband put up our Christmas tree* and other holiday decorations this year. I was simply too tired, or at least too unenthused, to drag the… Read More
…and then what happened? Amid a table of dirty dishes, crumpled gift wrap, and stop-and-go conversations, our three-year-old twin grandchildren began getting restless. It was past naptime, they were in a setting unfamiliar to them—Norman Quack’s restaurant in Forest Lake, MN—and half-eaten chocolate chip cookies left chocolate tracks on their hands and faces. Mmmm. Theo had just unwrapped The Cookie… Read More
We were celebrating our 15th anniversary, and I was expecting eight inches…of snow…to add to the excitement. The weather gods had been warning us mere mortals for a week that big snow was on the way. Looking upwards, I saw the sky was grey and pouting, so a storm seemed possible. Looking downwards, I wondered why my husband was wearing… Read More
“Just how many armies are we feeding?†My husband, with his usual finesse, needed to let me know I was going overboard. I glared at him and hoisted a platter of crudites that resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa out to the car. It was a lot, but I’d never, ever, admit it was too much. We were hosting a… Read More
Saturday night, Dec. 12th. The auditorium lights are down and the concert underway. My husband and I, arriving late, crab-walk into the dark seeking our seats. Fortunately, the row is empty, so I don’t have to drag my ample butt past disgruntled and timelier guests. Unfortunately, the row is empty, which means a lot of people are missing out on… Read More
Like furry gargoyles, our two cats, Giese and Pudgy, perch on the headboard of our bed and wait for their breakfast. If I sleep too long into the morning haze, they begin a choreographed plot of accidental pillow dives near my head. After the third or fourth “whoomp” of cat cannon-balling, I am forced to wake officially up. They… Read More
And there it was. The sound of a bell rung with urgency. Like Pavlov’s dog, I responded. I don’t believe I salivated, but I did reach into my purse for my wallet. And there she was. A small woman with grey hair and shoulders hunched with age. Each year this woman stands in the entryway of our local grocery store… Read More
A Stop and Smell the Roses Moment! I follow an interesting, kind, young woman named Amber Vilhauer. Â Per her website:Â Amber Vilhauer (formerly Ludwig) is an online business development expert who supports authors, speakers and coaches to establish a powerful, integrated online presence that gets results and empowers them to make a difference in their industry. Today she sent out an… Read More
The Picture of Happiness Ah, the dilemma. You’re browsing at one of your hometown shops and spot a gorgeous pair of earrings. You flip the tag and discover they are handmade by a local artist. Cool. The price is amazingly reasonable considering the artist’s time and labor, not to mention the fact that these are not mass-produced earrings that thousands… Read More
Chocolate Avocado Pudding Some things are odd couplings, but work well. Leather and Lace. Aging rock stars and stick-thin super models. Sandals and socks. Chocolate and Avocado. Wait, what? Chocolate and Avocado?  Yep. While not a new recipe, I wanted to share it with those of you who have not yet tried this delectable, healthy, dessert. The first time I… Read More
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.†— Lao Tzu Last week I was poetically whining about the slushy snowfall, and today we had a chance of breaking a Minnesota record by hitting 70 degrees three days in a row. In November. Let’s see…hot, cold. Hot, cold. That sounds vaguely familiar to my hot flashes. Could it be that… Read More
The weather forecaster lied to me. Well, she lied to a bunch of viewers, but I took it personally. There was something about the way she faced the television camera that made me suspect she had her fingers crossed behind her back when she said, “Don’t worry! We will not have accumulating snow. The ground is still too warm.†Liar!… Read More
“It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary.†—David Bailey A friend, who is part of a local art group I was considering joining,… Read More
I didn’t see it coming. That whole “how cute is he?†thing. A young boy wandered into my Aging Schmaging tent and looked around. I was a vender at Parley Lake Winery enjoying the last vestiges of a warm autumn day. He stared at my photographs, and then approached the table. “Does the candy cost anything?†he said. I had… Read More
Yep, I spread my um, wings, and took it all in. Me. Standing in front of a room of women delivering a message I believe in. Me. So shy that I avoid eye-contact most of the time, and yet there I was intentionally looking into the eyes of beautiful strangers as I encouraged creativity from their doubtful souls. Me. Tending… Read More
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