If you’re casting about for a way to take the edge off Trump’s wrecking ball, I heartily recommend the uplifting powers of a great...
Memorable Winter Reads
If you’re casting about for a way to take the edge off Trump’s wrecking ball, I heartily recommend the uplifting powers of a great read. Reading is more than an escape. It can provide inspiration for charting a course in these [...]
Pat Taub
Grandmothering10
“A Life in Light,” Mary Pipher’s Memoir
As we enter a new year punctuated with images of wars, climate emergencies and the alarming prospect of a Trump presidency poised to threaten our civil liberties, Mary Pipher’s memoir “A Life in Light,” is a beacon of hope. Pipher offers personal examples, honed through a lifetime of beating back darkness, to discover light and resilience. [...]
Pat Taub
A Love Letter to the Women In Gaza
Dear Women in Gaza, I need for you to understand that while my government has supplied Israel with deadly weapons that have killed your children, husbands, mothers. fathers, siblings and others close to you, along with dedicated doctors, nurses and journalists, the majority of Americans do not support this policy. We anguish over the horrors [...]
Pat Taub
Don’t Dismiss the Foremothers in Your Family
I have friends who insist the women in their families didn’t provide examples of independence and/or positive aging. This observation can be skewed by the fact that our mothers and grandmothers didn’t live in our enlightened era where women are consciously aging with an awareness of ageism and sexism, and where the anti-aging industry [...]
Pat Taub
My Family Drama
Ram Dass: “If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” This quote came back to haunt me after spending Memorial Day weekend with my family. As my plane descended into Chicago’s O’Hare airport, I was filled with anticipation for my granddaughter’s high school graduation and for our first family reunion after [...]
Pat Taub
My Unconventional Valentine’s Rituals
Several years ago, when I grew weary of my unpartnered Valentine’s Days limited to red construction paper hearts from my grandchildren or Internet offers of bargain chocolates, I decided to make a ritual of doing something special for myself on Valentine’s Day, so I wouldn’t feel left out. That first year I indulged in a longtime desire [...]
Pat Taub
Waking Up to Climate Change
I have to make a confession: I have been a bad climate citizen. While I have been moved to the core by this summer’s record smashing heat, wildfires and floods, in response, I have done little more than wring my hands and exchange feelings of despair with friends. This weekend I read the book, All We Can Save, which hit me like a ton of [...]
Pat Taub
A Visit from the Grands, Writing My Family History, 2 Films & More!
Grands Visit Last week, my two grands, Jane, 17 and her brother Max, almost 16, flew from Chicago to Portland to visit me. It was our first time together since Christmas, 2019. Since then Max has grown to 6 feet. Jane’s funky-thrift shop look is now off the charts. We had fun even though the cold and rain pre-empted beach time. [...]
Pat Taub
What I Miss About Shopping
Months of COVID isolation without the option to shop left me examining my shopping habits. Over time it became clear that my shopping was spurred on by a consumer driven reflex, and not because I needed any more clothes. I realized what I miss more than purchasing a cheap Chanel knock-off are my shopping companions. Shopping for me, like for [...]
Pat Taub
Why Do Mothers-in-Law Have a Negative Image?
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
Banishing the “I’m Not Being Productive” Guilt
“I feel guilty because I have all this time at home and I’m not being productive.” This is a common response I’ve been hearing from friends and seeing on Facebook postings. Enough! Let’s put an end to these harsh self-judgments. The “productive” path right now is to give yourself time to adjust to the coronavirus’ mandated [...]
Pat Taub