If you live alone, if your family is scattered far and wide, if you recently lost a partner or spouse, if you can’t afford the plane...
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.
Aging May be a Laughing Matter After All. . .
As Bette Davis reminds us, “Aging isn’t for sissies.” To embrace aging fearlessly is indeed a bold act. We all know the importance of diet and exercise, having a sense of purpose and building close, nurturing relationships, but sometimes we don’t pay enough attention to developing a sense of humor around the demands of aging. I‘m [...]
Pat Taub
Let’s Take Back Mother’s Day by Replacing Flowers and Cards with Peace Actions!
Given the fact that the United States has the most aggressive military presence on the planet, with 662 military bases in 38 foreign countries, peace work couldn’t be more important. A good way to pump some new life into the peace movement is for women to reinvigorate their commitment to it. I can’t think of a better way to start than [...]
Pat Taub
The Journey Home to Self: Spirituality Late in Life
Aging has brought a renewed interest in the spiritual questions I grappled with during my late night college bull sessions. Is there a God? Can prayer make a difference in one’s life? What is my spiritual path? In my middle years I was too busy raising children and building a career to grapple with meaning of life questions with the intensity [...]
Pat Taub
Don’t You Dare Call Me OLD!
I have never witnessed anything quite like it: the adverse, often combative reactions many older women have to the label of “old woman.” In my classes, “Women and Aging,” when I suggest that we adopt with pride the label “old woman” to counter the negative images of the aging woman, invariably most of the class will adamantly resist–this [...]
Pat Taub
When Life Gets You Down, Turn to Your Inspiration Box
April in New England, where I live, is often a time that brings out the worst in its neighbors. We split hairs over our taxes, curse the weather for taking so long to bring us Spring, and for older women, like me, for the dampness which exacerbates arthritis. Wanting to avoid the crotchy old lady label, I suddenly remembered my inspiration [...]
Pat Taub
Diana Athill: Possibly the Coolest Old Woman on the Planet!
If you need inspiration and reassurance that old age can be a dynamic time and not a passage to be feared, then grab Diana Athill’s two memoirs. The first, Somewhere Towards the End, was written when she was 89. Her most recent memoir, Alive, Alive Oh! was published last year when Athill was 98! Athill is a wonderful example of how one can [...]
Pat Taub
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