Reading a 2017 essay by Deborah Tannen “My Mother Speaks Through Me,” I paused at the sentence: Though my mother died in 2004, she is the one whose voice comes out when I speak, and whose speaking style shapes how I hear others’ words. I too have been surprised, even amused, when I say something that sounds just like my mother. Unlike [...]
Pat Taub
From its conception almost 5 years ago, WOW has been committed to encouraging older women to identify and resist the cultural messages that denigrate the aging women. Blog posts have emphasized the positives of aging, while championing the on-going contributions of older women in the arts, politics and spirituality. I hadn’t questioned WOW’s [...]
Pat Taub
This is a tricky question because the soul is intangible, mysterious and hard to grasp, yet we recognize when our soul is awakened. Our world lights up, transporting us to another dimension. I feel soulful when I create a bouquet from wild flowers, re-engage with a long-lost friend, listen to Mozart, or take a solitary walk on country roads. [...]
Pat Taub
With COVID-19 propelling nurses into the headlines, I wanted to understand what it means to be a nurse. I contacted the National Nurses Union, who put me in touch with two Maine nurses, Cokie Giles, 64, and her daughter Jessie Lambert, 38. Last week we talked via Zoom. As members of the union, Cokie and Jessie are protected from being [...]
Pat Taub
When my oldest son became engaged, a luncheon was arranged to introduce me to his finance’s family. The scrutiny I received from my future daughter-in-law’s sisters made me feel like they were from the CIA. I experienced the uncomfortable sensation that I was being sized-up to determine the extent to which I’d be a problematic mother-in-law. [...]
Pat Taub
#NotDying4WallStreet This is a new popular hash tag, which sprung up after Trump suggested that the country’s social isolation end by Easter, noting that if some people (us older adults) have to die, it may be worth it to get the economy rolling again. Jeffrey St. Clair, writing in Counterpunch, referred to Trump’s sacrificial plan as [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by GWEN McCAULEY Here I am thinking of ‘retiring’ for a second time after officially retiring 25 years ago. That first time I retired I received a generous buy-out package from a major telecommunications company after 20 years of hard work and much success. I knew the world was changing. I knew that the aspects of corporate [...]
Pat Taub
Whenever I visit Western Europe I can’t help but notice how much kinder it is to the aging woman than the States are. We are bombarded by media images that equate beauty almost exclusively with a young body. By contrast, women in Western Europe, while aware of their aging forms, don’t seem to experience body shaming to the same degree. [...]
Pat Taub
During my church’s coffee hour this past Sunday I found myself in conversation with a politically concerned young woman who was eager to discuss Michelle Goldberg’s New York Times op-ed, “Democracy Grief is Real.” The gist of the essay is that Trump has induced profound political despair among liberals. My companion felt validated [...]
Pat Taub
Friday the 13thDebunked Did you know that Friday the 13thwas a sacred holiday during the era of the Goddess, which predated Christianity and the ascent of patriarchy? In fact 13 was considered a lucky number, but because 13 belonged to the era of women’s religions, once patriarchy was in place, the number became pejorative, like treating [...]
Pat Taub