LEARNING TO APPRECIATE THE BODY YOU HAVE
by Suzanne Braun Levine
Next/Avenue®
Years from now you’ll wish you looked this good, so show your body the respect it deserves…
One of the peculiarities of being an older mother is that your children see your younger self as a stranger. Any photograph in which I appear chic or sexy or simply young elicits the same stunned response from my 26-year-old daughter: “Is that you?” She can’t picture me actually wearing the hip ’60s clothing that I pull out to impress her, especially since I can’t even get any of it over my head now.
Are You Old Enough to Know What Love Is?
By Suzanne Braun Levine
I am making a new friend…. I think; you never know about such things until you are actually there, at intimacy. But this friendship is already taking a surprising turn.
I find myself going at it in a very different way from relationship-building in the past. I am still looking for trust, humor, empathy, curiosity — the same old things I’ve always looked for — but the stages I find myself going through to get there are new.
SPECIAL EDITION! Mother Nature’s Surprising Gift: The New Intimacy
After 50!
Suzanne Braun Levine &
Mary Eileen Williams
FeistySideofFifty.com
“One of the lovely things about writing a book about women in my stage of life is that I learn so much that makes my life richer. The message of How We Love Now is the same message that I have taken away from all the thoughtful women I interviewed – that we are in more nourishing relationships than we stop to appreciate and that those relationships are helping us grow more authentic and more “bodacious” – to use Eileen’s word -every day. And we should stop to celebrate that.
JOIN OUR SPECIAL “HOW WE LOVE NOW” LAUNCH ON FEISTY SIDE OF FIFTY RADIO!
Suzanne Braun Levine and
Mary Eileen Williams, host
We are not our mother’s generation when ‘the change of life,’ as menopause was called, meant that life stopped changing. Second adulthood instead is about change and new kinds of intimacy. It is about the eyes-light up glow that is triggered by a wide range of loving relationships, including grandchildren, friends, colleagues as well as romantic partners – and new beginnings.
JANE FONDA’S BLOG ABOUT
“HOW WE LOVE NOW”
Jane Fonda recently celebrated her 75th Birthday and shared the good news about being that age on her blog: “I am happier than ever, more at peace, healthy – well there are times when my body hurts all because of osteoarthritis. But that doesn’t define me…” (Read more at “Jane’s Blog”). I remembered that she had blogged about reading HOW WE LOVE NOW and thought I would share it here. Enjoy!
Female Friendship–The True Gift of the Season
by Mary Eileen Williams
FeistySideofFifty.com
By the time we reach 50, we’ve gone through a lot. We’ve lost loved ones to death and through the breaking of relationship ties. We’ve endured injured pride, damaged self-esteem, and crushing disappointments. We have sustained significant blows to the ego through painful experiences of rejection. And we’ve seen our nest empty, watching our children build their own lives while our loved ones (and we) grow older. We need our friends now more than ever before!
SELF- INVENTION – The Bond Among Women of All Generations
By Suzanne Braun Levine
One thing about being an older mother is that you are constantly reminded of the truism that age doesn’t really describe the shape of a person’s life. Nor does our place on the family tree, the generation we are assigned to at birth. When my daughter was born I was 44, old enough to be her grandmother. When she went to school, I was old enough to be her teachers’ (and her friends parents’) mother. At the same time my contemporaries had long since forgotten about coping with babies and young children – they were on to the joys of grandchildren. My most meaningful cohort was other women with children my children’s age, but not my age themselves.
Talkin’ ‘bout Our Generation: The Myths Versus Reality
By NextAvenue Staff
You know the stereotype: aging narcissists who’ve lost their creative edge, coasting downhill and taking up space at work as they wax nostalgic about Leave It to Beaver and Woodstock to stave off the inevitable midlife crisis. Or something like that.
The Ms. “Family” 40th Birthday Party – Celebrating Sisterhood, Wonder Woman and Why We [Women] Won the Election!
by Karin Lippert
Huff/Post50
“To this day, it’s one of the ways I define myself: I worked at Ms. It’s my badge of pride,”
Hagar Scher
We came together to celebrate our collective pride and three generations of connections as a “family.” To remember the conversations we started with each other that became articles, sparked a dialogue with our readers – with women everywhere – and transformed our lives and theirs.
Thank God It’s Thanksgiving
By Suzanne Braun Levine,
Mothering In The Middle
Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite day of the year. The way I do it, it has all the advantages of a holiday with none of the oppressive side-effects. There are no presents, so there is no guilt or financial stress. The food is wonderful and comforting (with lots of leftovers). I can enjoy a jello mold or sweet potatoes with marshmallows without shame.