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...
Aging7
Crafting Healing Stories to Shed Anger
One of the most valuable lessons aging has bestowed on me is the importance of shedding anger. The less anger I hold the more inner peace I possess. I’ve learned to release a lot of my anger by imagining myself inhabiting the lives of those who have hurt me, resulting in a new story where I experience compassion towards the other. This [...]
Pat Taub
Is the Wellness Industry Stressing-Out Older Americans?
It seems like a paradox to accuse the wellness industry of adding stress to the lives of older Americans, yet this is a central thesis in Barbara Ehrenreich’s new book, Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, The Uncertainty of Dying and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer. Ehrenreich maintains that many older Americans are stressed-out [...]
Pat Taub
A Tragic Loss, Oklahoma Teachers’ Strike, A Great Video & More!
The Death of a Remarkable Woman This past week Connie Chandler Ward, 82, of Tenants Harbor died in a car crash. Her sudden death has jolted her community that reaches across the country. Connie had been the chaplain at Wellesley College before leaving there to become one of the three founders of Greenfire, a women’s spiritual retreat [...]
Pat Taub
Valentines for the Women in My Heart
What better time than Valentine’s Day to pay homage to some of the remarkable women who helped shaped me? My mother, Jane Conrad, provided me with a love for art, escorting me to my first art museum (Washington, DC’s National Gallery of Art) at age 9. I was awed by the marble columns and huge masterpieces in elaborate gold frames. Mother [...]
Pat Taub
How Did Aging Become So Complicated?
Both of my grandmothers lived well into their 80’s, making an easy transition into old age. Neither one took mega doses of vitamins or exercised to stave off the Grim Reaper. Nor were they bombarded with advice on how to slow the aging process. They each continued to dress up almost every day. My paternal grandmother was rarely without [...]
Pat Taub
Sisters-in-Law, Hats, A New Park & Iceland Bound
Thinking of My Sister-in-Law I have great respect for Phyllis, my sister-in-law, who has been a lifelong activist for peace and justice. In the past three years she has suffered three hard deaths: her husband, her beloved brother, and her ex-husband, the father of her two children. I will hold Phyllis in the light this weekend as she marks [...]
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