Becoming a Cool Grandma
Becoming a Cool Grandma On a sunny morning last Thanksgiving, my grandchildren and their cousins were getting restless. And who could blame them? They’d discovered the kid-sized buckets and shovels hidden in a closet, the beach beckoned, and their parents were busy chatting and preparing food. Looking for an adult to accompany them, our eldest […]
10 Things to Know When You Turn Sixty
10 Things to Know When You Turn Sixty “Aging happens, because we cannot stop it, and it is not what we feared.” –Victoria Smith, Hags On the morning of my sixtieth birthday party, my firstborn and I walked to a breakfast cafe in Berkeley. “It’s funny,” I said. “I don’t feel old. I feel great.” […]
The Power of Late Bloomers
The Power of Late Bloomers The attempts to disempower an American woman unfold across her lifetime. She is sexualized as a young girl, loses her reproductive freedom as a young woman, takes on the “Second Shift” as a mother, and becomes invisible after menopause. Rendering women over fifty invisible is insidious because in reality age […]
Living The Dream
Living The Dream All my life, I dreamed of literary success. I wanted to write and publish a blockbuster novel and enjoy the life of the successful author. The universe had other plans, so I set the dream aside and applied myself to earning a paycheck. While rearing my son, climbing a career ladder, and […]
Welcome to Amsterdam
Welcome to Amsterdam In the early years of raising my son who has cerebral palsy, I subscribed to a magazine for parents of children with disabilities. The magazine was full of information about dealing with schools and physicians, and the tone was resolutely upbeat. One particular article stands out in my memory, four decades later. […]
3 Ways to Report an Adverse Medication Reaction
3 Ways to Report an Adverse Medication Reaction I recently spoke with a woman over 65 who was recovering from a serious adverse reaction to a prescription drug. She notified her doctor and stopped taking the medication, but she wanted to do more. She was concerned that in the future, others might experience similar reactions. […]
