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...
Aging Fearlessly
Ferocious Love: An Interview with Joanne Arnold, Photographer
When Joanne Arnold turned 50 her life felt empty. After raising three children, she suddenly had time on her hands. She was without direction, without meaning and purpose. Ever since she was a child, the one place where she felt alive was in “first light,” or the time right before dawn. This remembering prompted her to get up early, [...]
Pat Taub
Facing Our Fears
“I’m terrified of what Trump is doing to our country.” “I’m frightened of the climate my grandchildren will inherit.” “I can hardly bear to read the news any more. Each day seems to bring another disaster.” These are concerns I frequently hear from friends. Many days I feel the same way, but I also recognize that giving [...]
Pat Taub
Don’t Give Up!
If you care about justice and human dignity, last week was a very bad week. The Senate’s impeachment trial turned into a farce. While we were distracted by the Senate’s circus, Trump was busy adding to his list of egregious crimes: gutting the clean water act and adding six African countries to his travel ban. As our country morphs [...]
Pat Taub
Learning to Love Our Older Faces
A professional photographer once told me, “Every time I photograph an older woman she says, “Make me look 20 years younger.” I incredulously responded, “Every time?” ‘Yes, every time,” he replied. What a sorry state for aging women! How can we enjoy old age if we hate the faces that accompany it? I realize not every older [...]
Pat Taub
Badass Older Women Tackling Ageism
I’m seeing a new boldness among older women who are talking back when ageist behavior is directed at them. These women are standing up for themselves and for all of us when they challenge a culture that demeans the older woman. Allow me to introduce some of these badass women: Rachel, age 69, is a frequent traveler who at just 5’ struggles [...]
Pat Taub
To ”Bibimania!” – Aging à la française
GUEST POST by JORINDE VAN DEN BERG I am an aging Dutch-American woman, who has visited France regularly for about half a century. When I moved to the U.S., I noticed the ambiguous portrayal of French women in the American media: a love-hate relationship vacillating between sheer adoration and jealousy of those “froggies” (not my words!) [...]
Pat Taub
Unapologetic
GUEST POST by NANCY RULLO The model slipped her robe off and slid into a pose elongating her legs, torso, neck and arms. During the one-minute pose, artists moved charcoal across large sketchpads. I watched Judy’s hand translating the model onto the page in confident strokes. The thin charcoal in my hand broke in half; my sketch [...]
Pat Taub
Coming into My Own at 60
GUEST POST by TONI KIEF The day I turned sixty I collided with a shocking revelation. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up! I was single again, living alone and on my way to meet my women friends for vodka and cake. The thought wouldn’t stop; it kept repeating. I drove to the party, and took inventory. At eleven I wanted [...]
Pat Taub
Aging With Eyes Wide Open
There seem to be three basic ways most of us adapt to aging: with our eyes shut, with our eyes half open, or with our eyes wide open. The first group consists of those in denial about aging, like women who protest, “Don’t ever call me old!” The second group is where most of us fall; some days we acknowledge our aging and plan for [...]
Pat Taub
Dusting Off Your Dreams
I have a friend who’s been telling me for years that she’s going to take Italian lessons. Another friend has a long-standing dream to visit Japan. For just as long every time I pass an art supply store I revisit my dream of taking up watercolors. We’re all members of the late-in-life dream club whose engine is stalled. But it doesn’t [...]
Pat Taub