While I’m an elder, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to dying, that is until my brother, who’s 20 months younger, announced in...
Thinking About Death
While I’m an elder, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to dying, that is until my brother, who’s 20 months younger, announced in a recent late-night phone call that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. (To preserve my brother’s [...]
Pat Taub
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Managing Hurt Feelings in Close Friendships
Guest post by Stephanie Betzold Lately, I‘ve been thinking a lot about my childhood friends, best friends, fading friends and new friends, the seasons of friendship and how I personally define friend and friendship. Retired for two years now, I have taken advantage of the gift of time to think about my life. I’m more aware of the many [...]
Pat Taub
Why Are So Many Older Women Not Having Sex?
Talking to older women, in groups I’ve led and among friends, I’ve discovered a disconnect between what women tell me and what the popular culture reports about the sex life of older women. A Huffington Post survey conducted last July found that 59% of the partnered women over 60 had an active sex life with a third of the women over 70 [...]
Pat Taub
The Birds are for Getting Old?
Guest post by Ann Tracy When is it that one finally realizes that maybe they are indeed “old”? Do we have individual epiphanies or do we barely notice when we prefer leggings or pants over tights or pantyhose and skirts. Or is that just me? Now at the age of 64, I’m finally able to not care about looking “sexy” [...]
Pat Taub
A WIDOW’S JOURNEY: Part II
Guest Post by Elaine McGillicuddy Once the funeral is over, and the sympathy cards arrive less frequently, what is it like, after every errand, or meeting with a friend, to return to an empty house? I couldn’t bear the void. It’s desperation that told me: “Just sit! Just sit.” What relief to find that in sitting, I experienced Francis’ [...]
Pat Taub
A WIDOW’S JOURNEY: Part 1
Guest Post by Elaine McGillicuddy (First in a two-part series by Elaine on living as a widow) For me, the process of dealing with my grief through the loss of my beloved husband was through writing. I felt compelled to preserve Francis’ words, and what we experienced together during the 100 days from the date of the cancer diagnosis until [...]
Pat Taub