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...
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.
Modern Day Witch Hunts: Denying Women Abortions
From time to time, I will publish a post for “Flashback Friday” from my prior blog. The first in this series originally appeared on July 24, 2013. In this post, I attempted to place the Right-wing hysteria over abortion rights in an historical context. In my wildest dreams I couldn’t have imagined that two years down the road, [...]
Pat Taub
Does Dining Alone Intimidate You?
When I tell other women my age that I frequently eat out alone, they tend to look at me like I have two heads. When they catch their breath, they say something like, “Aren’t you embarrassed?” Or, “How did you work up the nerve?” I understand their reactions. It’s not always easy for me to walk into a restaurant alone. More often [...]
Pat Taub
Life After Retirement . . . Doesn’t Have
to be a Black Hole
Many older women find themselves feeling empty when they retire. At work they were valued for their contributions and intellect, while enjoying the camaraderie of workplace associates. Once they retire they often face a big void. Some try to fill it with hobbies, travel, extended lunches with close friends, or taking courses at the local senior [...]
Pat Taub
Are You Guilty of Romancing the Past?
My elegant 82 year old widowed neighbor speaks longingly of the years she lived in Italy during the time her husband was a Renaissance Arts scholar. Her three children learned to speak Italian and developed a passion for foreign travel. Another friend, who recently turned 80, frequently reminisces about her younger head-turning beautiful self—she’s [...]
Pat Taub
Getting Old Doesn’t
Have to Suck
While I have my share of aging complaints: arthritis, a jaw line that is no longer firm–ditto for my major body parts, sleep problems, and bouts of loneliness, I can find plenty to cheer about in the becoming-an-old-lady department. For starters, I’m more confident. I no longer agonize about my choices. I don’t own the guilt [...]
Pat Taub
Learning to be Old My Way
I’m very clear that I want to grow old differently from the old lady personas adopted by many of our grandmothers and mothers, who donned polka dot dresses, dispensed little candies from their pocket books, and smiled demurely while keeping their opinions to themselves. Nor do I want to grow old having succumbed to plastic surgery to peel [...]
Pat Taub