11 years ago today I underwent a 10-1/2 hour surgery that gave me my life back. I was reborn at the age of 52 with the promise of less pain, fewer hospitalizations, the ability to eat again, the ability to live again.
Tag: midlife
5 Things I Know About Letting Go
Letting go comes in two flavors: “passive letting go” and “active letting go.” One tastes like plain ol’ vanilla, the other Cherry Garcia: cherry ice cream with whole cherries and mega pieces of dark chocolate.
Starting Over – Again
The wheel on the hospital gurney made a continuous squeaking sound as they wheeled me down the hall to the operating room. It was one of those incessant noises that would normally drive me crazy, but for some reason that morning I found it comforting.
I Am Not Old
I am not old…she said. I am rare. I am the standing ovation at the end of the play.
Silver
When your hair is aflame with winter and you have decades of learning and leaving and loving sewn into the corners of your eyes and your children come home to find their own history in your face.
Savor
Thought for the day: THIS is how you live your life. Both hands in and messy.
Why Self-Care is Not Selfish
Like many women, I thought of self-care as selfish or indulgent, served up with an undercurrent of guilt. It seemed extravagant – like a weekend at a spa, rather than emotional first aid of the highest order. Like the classic example flight attendants give about putting on your oxygen mask first before helping others, it’s important to tend to yourself first.
Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
After talking with more than 100 women from all across the country, about 50% expressed concern that they were becoming marginalized because of their advancing years. The other 50% had no such concerns. In fact, I had to define more clearly and concisely what I meant by "invisible" in order for them to answer the question. It just wasn't on their radar.
A Search for Significance
I wanted to get a better handle on what ignites a fire in the belly of a high-achieving, soul-driven midlife woman, and I wasn’t disappointed. Everyone I talked with was wonderfully open, unreservedly frank, and touchingly vulnerable. While these women may have taken any number of divergent paths as a result of choice or circumstance, there are a number of places where these various paths intersect, and when standing on that sacred ground, their voices sound particularly unified.
Midlife Woman, Come Home to Yourself
Carry your dream like a flame in a vessel Shoulders back Head held high One high-heeled step at a time Forward Always forward