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...
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What Will You Do With the Rest of Your Life?
This question has been staring me in the face as my seventies flash by. When I was young it felt like I had all the time in the world to plot my future. Now my future has shrunk. I go to more funerals than weddings. I catch my children whispering behind my back, comparing notes on how I’ve slowed down. Fundamentally I have two choices: [...]
Pat Taub
Remembering My Father, Women’s Primary Wins, A Cottage Move & More!
August 9th August 9th is an auspicious date for me for two reasons: the tragic anniversary of Hiroshima and my father’s birthday, born in 1913. He died in 1994 succumbing to a rare form of blood cancer. My parents lived in Harrisburg, Penna., remaining there during the meltdown of Three Mile Island. I’ve always wondered if my father’s [...]
Pat Taub
The Language of Kindness
The Language of Kindness by Christie Watson is one of those rare books that make your heart come alive. After I finished it, I felt a surging love for close friends and family, even a deeper connection to strangers I passed on the street. Watson’s book is an account of her 20 years as a nurse in London hospitals. As a student nurse Watson [...]
Pat Taub
Breaking Free from Expectations
Guest Post by Emily Capelle I always heard that as you get older you lose your filter and start saying whatever comes to mind. Or behave in ways you wouldn’t have in the past. Well now that I’m 58, I have noticed it more and more. Growing up in an “in-between” time like the sixties and seventies, I suspect many young girls, like [...]
Pat Taub
Creating A Vision For The Third Chapter
Guest Post by Stephanie Raffelock We arrive at the doorstep of older age without a plan. Often retirement isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. We often find our sense of self, tangled up with what “we used to do” instead of “who we are now.” THE PURPOSEFUL LIFE Life comes down to this at any age: we are [...]
Pat Taub
London Photo Journey
Having just returned from a family vacation in London, I’m dedicating this week’s “Short Takes” to a photo journey of our trip. Granddaughter Jane Our holiday was generated by my granddaughter’s Girl Scout troop’s visit. Her family, myself and my youngest son crammed in the usual tourist sites: the Tate Modern, The Tower [...]
Pat Taub
In Despair Over What the U.S. Has Become
Since taking office Trump has managed to sign one mean-spirited order after another, but ripping infants and children from their mothers and placing them in cages with little more than Mylar blankets tipped the balance for me, heightening my despair over the direction of our country. I can’t let go of the now iconic image of the toddler [...]
Pat Taub
Grandmother Wisdom for Granddaughters
GUEST POST BY TONI KIEF For this post Toni collected grandmother wisdom from friends that are grandmothers. They are among the pairs photographed below. Dearest Granddaughters, Because of you, we joined the community of Grandmothers. We would like to assure you that it’s all worthwhile. Watching you careen into adulthood pressing forward, [...]
Pat Taub
My Father: The Good-Hearted Tyrant
Like most women I’ve spent endless hours analyzing my relationship with my mother, while giving only a passing nod to my relationship with father. With Father’s Day approaching it seems fitting to reflect on my father’s influence. I grew up in the 1950’s when gender roles were strictly defined. My mother, like most women of the era, [...]
Pat Taub
Street Theater, William Trevor, Remembering Kate Spade & More!
Street Theater Last Friday I participated in the silent tableau, “Gaza Bleeds” staged in downtown Portland. I joined with Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights to protest Israel’s shooting of unarmed demonstrators in Gaza who have been protesting for over two months calling on Israel to end their illegal blockade of Gaza. My task was [...]
Pat Taub