WOW: Women's Older Wisdom
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November 2024
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Aging10

Hair Stories

Recently we’ve been seeing lots of stories on older women going gray or white during Covid.  Deciding it would be interesting to unpack these stories, I posted on the WOW Facebook page, asking women how they feel about their hair post Covid.  I am pleased to report that the majority in my sample has made peace with their hair.  Many felt [...]

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My Soul-Full Family Holiday

GUEST POST by CAROLE LESKIN This is how I imagined it. Once Upon a Time, long, long ago, there was nothing but Darkness. A color so black it has never been seen again. And there was silence. It had been that way forever. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, millions of tiny lights, brighter than the brightest diamonds appeared. They danced in the [...]

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Casting Off Regrets

Nervously I opened my aging report card. I earned respectful grades for healthy living, close relationships and meaningful pursuits, but a low grade for managing my regrets. No surprise. I tend to resemble Lady Macbeth uttering “Out damned spot!” In my case, it’s regrets that I can’t rub out rather than blood. I’m haunted over screaming [...]

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What My Mask Hides  

GUEST POST by CAROLE LESKIN   One of my favorite songs is the 1954 Nat King Cole rendition of “Smile.” As a little girl,  I remember my father playing it, smiling, and softly singing along. He was melancholy and rarely smiled. I had discovered his secret side! I inherited my father’s temperament with one distinct difference: [...]

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Women’s Friendships As A Lifeline

A friend once said,  “If grown women had pajama parties, they wouldn’t need therapists.” She was referring to the close connections among girls that often get lost when women mature, becoming preoccupied with family and careers. Feminist psychology contends that because women are affiliative by nature they frequently find their voice [...]

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Dania’s Bench

GUEST POST by CAROLE LESKIN It was 7 AM when I stepped out onto my balcony to look at the sunrise. I call the balcony my tree house, because it is secluded, overlooks a trail, field and stream, is abundant with wildlife, and in the warm months, wildflowers and a garden. No matter how I feel or what lies ahead, I am soothed by the magic of [...]

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The Pleasures of Age

GUEST POST by EDWARD MOONEY Age is a time for looking back— on a life, on a family; on a vocation, a profession. It’s a time for pleasant memories from the past and also for present day by day enjoyments— enjoying a community orchestra, a choir, an invitation to lunch or dinner. It’s a time to phone family, to walk for a cappuccino, [...]

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The Trap of Being a Strong Woman

A neighbor, an elderly woman, who’s been through the mill caring for a husband with Alzheimer’s is referred to as a “strong woman.”  I know several Maine women, well into their ‘70’s and ‘80’s, who have carved out self-sufficient rural lifestyles, including chopping their own wood. They too are called “strong women.”  [...]

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