Pat Taub is a family therapist, writer and activist and life-long feminist. She hopes that WOW will start a conversation among other older women who are fed up with the ageism and sexism in our culture and are looking for cohorts to affirm their value as an older woman.
I’ve more or less accepted the changes aging brings to my appearance: wrinkles, a sagging jaw line, droopy breasts and a puffy tummy. The physical limitations are another story. I am frequently at war with the arthritis in my left knee and right shoulder. I curse my body when my long walks have to be curtailed because my knee swells [...]
Pat Taub
In these dark times slow reading or embracing books with paper pages can be a source of resistance and a place of refuge. I breathe easier when I turn away from the Internet to read real books in real time. Summer reading makes it possible to revisit a time when reading was leisurely. My picks of summer books runs the gamut from thrillers [...]
Pat Taub
Portland’s Rally for Migrant Rights I joined the crowd of 2,000 at Portland’s city hall last Saturday, June 30th, to support migrant rights, which means family reunification and the end of indefinite detentions and especially the end of ICE. I was encouraged by the large crowds, especially the numbers of young families. I find myself [...]
Pat Taub
Guest Post by Stephanie Raffelock We arrive at the doorstep of older age without a plan. Often retirement isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. We often find our sense of self, tangled up with what “we used to do” instead of “who we are now.” THE PURPOSEFUL LIFE Life comes down to this at any age: we are [...]
Pat Taub
Having just returned from a family vacation in London, I’m dedicating this week’s “Short Takes” to a photo journey of our trip. Granddaughter Jane Our holiday was generated by my granddaughter’s Girl Scout troop’s visit. Her family, myself and my youngest son crammed in the usual tourist sites: the Tate Modern, The Tower [...]
Pat Taub
Since taking office Trump has managed to sign one mean-spirited order after another, but ripping infants and children from their mothers and placing them in cages with little more than Mylar blankets tipped the balance for me, heightening my despair over the direction of our country. I can’t let go of the now iconic image of the toddler [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST BY TONI KIEF For this post Toni collected grandmother wisdom from friends that are grandmothers. They are among the pairs photographed below. Dearest Granddaughters, Because of you, we joined the community of Grandmothers. We would like to assure you that it’s all worthwhile. Watching you careen into adulthood pressing forward, [...]
Pat Taub
Like most women I’ve spent endless hours analyzing my relationship with my mother, while giving only a passing nod to my relationship with father. With Father’s Day approaching it seems fitting to reflect on my father’s influence. I grew up in the 1950’s when gender roles were strictly defined. My mother, like most women of the era, [...]
Pat Taub
Street Theater Last Friday I participated in the silent tableau, “Gaza Bleeds” staged in downtown Portland. I joined with Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights to protest Israel’s shooting of unarmed demonstrators in Gaza who have been protesting for over two months calling on Israel to end their illegal blockade of Gaza. My task was [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST BY JANET WEIL “Wow… what a body – she’s incredibly well-proportioned!” The thought bubble over my head filled in as, a few months ago, my husband and I watched on Netflix a rather dull film (California Suite) with only 2 characters. Relaxed West Coast ex-husband, played by Alan Alda, hosts tense [...]
Pat Taub