WOOF: Media Monday -- Wise WOOFers Speak Out!

If you've read WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty (and if you haven't, what are you waiting for?!), you understand we're a sisterhood of women determined to be all we can be now and forever more! Apparently these women feel much the same...

"I am more myself than I have ever been."
— May Sarton, poet, novelist, 75

"It’s taken 63 years, but now I know who I am."
— Madeline Albright, former Secretary of State, 63

"I like growing old. I say it to myself with surprise."
— Barbara Macdonald, author, activist, 65

"After all, I’m 81 — I’m experiencing an increased indifference
to people’s opinions — I’m not so scared anymore."
— Olga Bloom, musical director of Bargemusic, NYC, 81

"It’s a terrible thing in women’s culture that you’re supposed
to be dead after menopause in our culture. You’re not
beautiful any more, nothing. Since I was 60, I’ve written
more and had better energy than I ever had in my life."
— Meridel Le Sueur, poet, social activist, 86

"This is the best time of my life."
— Raquel Welch, film actress, 60

Quotes found at The Old Women's Project

WOOF: Media Monday

UNIFEM’s Anne-Marie Goetz stresses that UN Security Council Resolution 1325 has begun to advance women’s role at peace tables and ushered in new protections against sexual violence in conflicts. But urgent action is required to speed up progress. (Photo: UN/Sophie Paris)

What has WOOF found new on the web for women? Please check out ... (a link should not be construded as a WOOF endorsement)

The Real Deal: Economic Summit (part of the National Council for Research on Women)

United Nations Development Fund for Women (Five Questions for Anne-Marie Goetz)

On a lighter note...Art of Simplicity

For Women Only Over Fifty thoughts & stories:

WOOF available through Amazon and Echelon Press!

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Accentuate The Pawsitive!

WOOF: Media Monday

Sure, we propose a WOOFers restaurant in Women Only Over Fifty…And so far, we know of none. In the meantime, here are three links that may offer suggestions to put more of a spring in our step…

Top 10 Foods to Improve Energy Levels

Top 10 Foods that Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

Vitamins That Can Help Put a Smile on your Face

( Listing a site should not be construed as a WOOF endorsement.)

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For Women Only Over Fifty thoughts & stories:

WOOF available through Amazon and Echelon Press!

Buy New WOOF Download Companion

Accentuate The Pawsitive!

WOOF: Woop-Woop Wednesday!

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For Women Only Over Fifty thoughts & stories:

WOOF available through Amazon and Echelon Press!

Buy New WOOF Download Companion

Accentuate The Pawsitive!

WOOF: Media Monday

As many WOOFers know, our humorous book WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty contains stories, poems and limericks about all the joyful aspects of aging...thinning tresses, sagging seats and dating disasters.

Here are three online articles that may help us all as we seek to Wag More & Bark Less!
( Listing a site should not be construed as a WOOF endorsement.)

Short Hair Styles for Women Over 50!

Enjoy Dating in Your Prime Years!

Fab Over Fifty!

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For Women Only Over Fifty thoughts & stories:

WOOF available through Amazon and Echelon Press!

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Accentuate The Pawsitive!

Julia Rogers Hamrick & "Easy World"!

WOOF's guest is visionary author Julia Rogers Hamrick!

As a fabulous over-fifty woman, have you wondered, as the decades have passed and you've still not totally achieved the peace, prosperity and fulfillment you've been diligently seeking and sometimes, even chasing, "What am I missing?"

If you're like the wonderful, passionate women I know, you've studied, you've practiced, you've worked hard, you've sacrificed, you've accomplished a lot, you've been very, very "good"—and still, you haven't quite managed to get everything lined up so that you feel you've attained what you've been after.

Here is a startling thought: What if the problem is that you've been looking for life's treasures—Love, joy, peace, abundance, fulfillment—in a reality where they simply do not exist?

That's what most, if not all, of us have been doing! We've been looking for our heart's desires in what I've dubbed "Difficult World" when, instead, they can only be found in "Easy World"! The happy news is that they absolutely can be found in Easy World and it's time for us to find them there.

Easy World. Let that in. Breathe deeply of it. Feel the energy behind the words. Doesn't it feel familiar? And right?

If you've ever had the sense that your life is unnecessarily complicated, and more than a little frustrating at times, it's because you've been spending the bulk of your time in Difficult World. Instead of explaining what Difficult World is, I'm going to tell you about Easy World—I suspect you already have a high degree of familiarity with Difficult World!

Easy World is the original reality matrix provided by the "Divine Designer" (and no, I'm NOT talking about Candice Olson, as amazing as she is!) in which universal forces are always working together to support your total well-being. Your origins are there, though the amnesia brought on by being in Difficult World may have caused you to forget it.

In Easy World, everything you could possibly need and desire is supplied for you, freely and effortlessly. All you have to do to claim it is to be there.

Naturally, this begs the question, "How do I get to Easy World?" The loving intelligence that maintains Easy World has shown me the way and has asked me to show you. So here's what you do: You say the magic words "I choose to live in Easy World where everything is easy," and then you take some very simple actions: you breathe…relax…allow…and enjoy. And then watch the magic unfold!

That's really all there is to entering the reality where you were designed to thrive and where all life's treasures are awaiting you. But in order for you to experience your needs being taken care of and that which you desire manifesting, you need to remain in the relaxed, allowing state and therein lies rub: How do you do that? Helping you understand and master that—with ease—is my mission.

For an abundance of free Easy World information, please visit my web site devoted to teaching you about Easy World, http://www.iliveineasyworld.com/. To learn about my new book, Choosing Easy World: A Guide to Opting Out of Struggle and Strife and Living in the Amazing Realm Where Everything is Easy, visit http://www.choosingeasyworld.com/.

I'll be looking for your fabulous, radiant, fulfilled Self in Easy World!

-- Julia Rogers Hamrick

For more Women Only Over Fifty thoughts & stories:

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WOOF: 50 Women Over 50 -- Gloria Steinem

The list is endless. Women Only Over Fifty (WOOFers) who lead vibrant, meaningful lives and just seem to get younger every day.

In a recent interview Gloria Steinem was asked some very “old” questions. Ones the writer/journalist/activist has answered time and again over her decades-long feminist career. Perhaps the weariest of questions addressed Steinem’s physical attractiveness, and did she have concerns it played a role in her success.

Steinem’s answer underscored the mistake it is to assess women by the way they look, as opposed to attributes like “our heads and hearts.” She added that at 75, she’s still being asked that question. (The interviewer quipped if she were 75, she’d be thrilled. Steinem assured her she would not.)

Now, whether or not WOOFers share Steinem’s politics and/or feminist views, many of us may agree with the co-founder of MS Magazine on one point she raised, paraphrased here: As we age, the years bring with them a kind of freedom.

No more attempts at being a superwoman (a feminist myth she has tirelessly fought to dispel.)

No more guilt about what a woman should or should not do, think or be.

No more fear of growing up.

To some, it may seem Steinem has always embodied those qualities. One thing is for sure, she is forever a fearless advocate of women's rights.

WOOF salutes one of our generation’s change agents, Gloria Steinem.

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For more Women Only Over Fifty thoughts & stories:

WOOF available through Amazon and Echelon Press!

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Accentuate The Pawsitive!

WOOF: 50 Women Over 50 - Ellen

The list is endless. Women Only Over Fifty (WOOFers) who lead vibrant, meaningful lives and just seem to get younger every day.

She insisted "The show must go on!" when laid up with a torn back ligament and interviewed guests from a hospital bed on the set.

She followed two former US presidents to the podium at a Tulane University commencement in New Orleans wearing a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said.

She was picked to voice the character Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the animated movie "Finding Nemo" after the film's director said she typically changed the subject five times before finishing a sentence on her show.

She's a TV talk show host, a standup comic, a multiple-time award show host (and Emmy winner), the new American Idol judge, and an advocate for human and animal rights. And funny as hell.

Thank you, Ellen DeGeneres, for making life a whole lot more fun and reminding WOOFers everywhere to stay a puppy at heart!

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For more Women Only Over Fifty thoughts & stories:

WOOF available through Amazon and Echelon Press!

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March: Women's History Month

March's Woofer Revolution looks at Women's History Month!

The National Women's History Project , founded in 1980, is an educational nonprofit organization. Its mission is to recognize and celebrate the diverse and historic accomplishments of women by providing information and educational materials and programs.

Here's the story behind Women's History Month taken from their website: As recently as the 1970's, women's history was virtually an unknown topic in the K-12 curriculum or in general public consciousness. To address this situation, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women initiated a "Women's History Week" celebration for 1978.The week March 8th, International Women's Day, was chosen as the focal point of the observance. The local Women's History Week activities met with enthusiastic response, and dozens of schools planned special programs for Women's History Week. Over one-hundred community women participated by doing special presentations in classrooms throughout the country and an annual "Real Woman" Essay Contest drew hundreds of entries. The finale for the week was a celebratory parade and program held in the center of downtown Santa Rosa, California.

By 1986, 14 states had already declared March as Women's History Month. This momentum and state-by-state action was used as the rational to lobby Congress to declare the entire month of March 1987 as National Women's History Month. In 1987, Congress declared March as National Women's History Month in perpetuity. A special Presidential Proclamation is issued every year which honors the extraordinary achievements of American women.

The organization's overarching theme for 2010 and our 30th Anniversary celebration is Writing Women Back into History. It often seems that the history of women is written in invisible ink. Even when recognized in their own times, women are frequently left out of the history books. To honor our 2010 theme, the NWHP highlight pivotal themes from previous years. Each of these past themes recognizes a different aspect of women’s achievements, from ecology to art, and from sports to politics.

WOOF wishes to recognize those women who brought us to this point, those women who are working daily to advocate for our rights, and those women who will soon carry the torch!

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Eva Pasco: A WOOFer with Underlying Notes.

Having retired from a rewarding teaching career, Eva Pasco spent those first few years in home decorating heaven. Restless to find her own niche in the Second Act of Life, Eva revived a dormant creative writing talent by composing fiction which celebrates women over fifty, while tapping into issues affecting WOOFers.

A self-professed "fragrance philanderer," Eva's own addiction to "the juice" wafts through her debut novel, Underlying Notes, where readers can get a whiff of midlife renaissance with regard to sorting matters of the heart, redefining friendship, confronting a troubled past, and coming to terms with the tenets of life.

Eva recently paused from her writing long enough to chat with WOOF...

WOOF: Welcome to WOOF, Eva! Let’s get right to it. Please expand a bit on the three major reasons you think women over fifty have cause to celebrate.

EP: Thank you for your warm welcome, Diana. From my perspective, women over fifty have cause to celebrate because at this juncture in our lives the world is our oyster.

One—most of us have acquired the luxury of time for self-indulgence which was sacrificed as our generation tried to prove we could successfully balance motherhood and career.

Secondly-- whatever challenges, obstacles, and hardships we’ve endured and overcome throughout the years have afforded us resilience, resolve, and courage to explore new frontiers, for we’ve learned that mistakes and setbacks are not failings but the mortar for independence and adventure.

Thirdly-- most women over fifty pride ourselves in being well-educated to expand our horizons, while making a conscious effort to safeguard our health and well-being to increase prospects of longevity, which translates to female empowerment.

WOOF: How was it you came to discover these reasons? I mean, was it immediately after turning 50 or has it been a process?

EP: For me, self-discovery was a process. When I retired from teaching, the luxurious gift of time enabled me to delve into the joys of homemaking I’d sacrificed for career. For the first few years my contentment stemmed from preparing gourmet meals, reading novels, and refinishing furniture and cabinets which involved sanding, painting, and designing my own templates for stenciling. By outward appearances, I’d found my own niche.

WOOF: Your intro mentions the word “restless.” Can you tell us a little about how that felt and what made you move forward to realign your life?

EP: In retrospect my “restlessness” sprung from a sense that I no longer made a profound difference the way I had when I taught youngsters. I'd felt an emptiness. One measurable criterion involved the strides and gains my third grade students made with writing performance under my tutelage. This opened the door to introspection, and my subsequent revival of an otherwise dormant writing talent apparent since childhood.

WOOF: What have you discovered about yourself since reviving your love for writing?

EP: Since I’ve an avid interest in writing women’s fiction, I’ve become more sensitive to issues which affect women of all ages. I wish to parlay my novel in sponsoring an event for a local charitable organization.

WOOF: How did developing the character and plot in Underlying Notes (as well as the publishing process) helped you personally?

EP: Carla Matteo, my protagonist who initially stepped into my field of vision with all of her quirks, inhibitions, anxieties, and fears prior to the “journey” she embarks on in the Second Act of Life, has made me more determined than ever to celebrate the ordinary/extraordinary women amongst us who may never see our name in lights despite our everyday acts of heroism. Because the plot is driven by the character’s addiction to fragrance, a reporter from Time tracked me down for an interview for her article. One of my statements is the opening line for “Scents and Sensitivity” which appeared in the March 17, 2008 issue. The publishing process, particularly author ownership of marketing and promoting, has helped me become more resourceful, inventive, creative, and put me in close contact with potential readers.

WOOF: Finally, if a woman over fifty is struggling (or feeling restless!), what words of encouragement and/or guidance can you offer?

EP: Based on my own experience, my advice is to heed feelings of restlessness or discontent and focus on what truly makes you happy or fulfilled. This source of happiness will eventually steer you along your journey of reinvention. May the journey itself be its own reward.

Diana, I thoroughly enjoyed my interview and I’m delighted to mingle with spiritually kindred WOOFers.

Buy Underlying Notes on Amazon
BookLocker to Read Excerpt:
Email Eva

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WOOFer Revolution: Pawsitive Perspective

Week two of our revolution! This latest topic is a little tricky, don't you think?

A refresher, here's the idea:

What would it take for us to listen to our neighbors, friends and family members with a more pawsitive ear?

Face it. Sometimes it's just HARD! They complain about the same old things. They can be so negative. And, besides that, how come they won the lottery and not us!?

Unfortunately, short of wearing earplugs or removing everyone from our lives, there’s always going to be someone verbally sharing their good and bad “stuff” with us.

So the deal is, the one and only thing we can control is our response.

Let’s say a friend divorced for 20 years mentions again something their ex did during the marriage. First off, we need to put down the pillow we are inches from shoving in their mouth and take a deep breath!!

Then maybe try to listen beyond their words. Either smile and say nothing (and change the subject at first opportunity!) or ask our friend why, after all this time, it's still such an issue.

Of course, WOOFers also know we must honor ourselves, and if a relationship is hazardous to our emotional wellbeing, find the nearest exit!

(When we were writing Women Only Over Fifty, we actually had a lot of fun with this topic and throughout the book posted "Bones to Pick!")

So there! That's all solved! :>) And this is getting to be kind of fun! On to our next revolutionary theme which for the month of February will be:

Love, Love, Love

Please leave a comment while it's fresh in your mind. Tell all your friends about this blog post! Then stop by next Monday to read our thoughts on this new topic. Review other comments and if you feel motivated (we know you will!), share any new thoughts you have!

Join us here each week for more

Accentuate the Pawsitive

revolutionary topics!

Leave a comment and you might win

a FREE download of Accentuate the Pawsitive!

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Buy

Accentuate The Pawsitive!

WOOFer Revolution: A Pawsitive Self-Image

Whoo-hoo! We’re two weeks into the New Year. How are you feeling? Resolutely keeping those resolutions? (Hey, don’t throw that donut at your computer screen!)

Well, if it’ll make you feel any better, WOOFers don’t believe in resolutions. You read right. Why would we when everyone knows resolutions seldom work.

Instead, Women Only Over Fifty endorses revolutions!

And, you’ll be happy to know, we’re instigating our own gentle one right here at the WOOFers Club Blog. Every month this year we will explore a different topic to help our personal world revolve a little smoother.

Oh, and guess what? At the end of each month, we will giveaway a download of Accentuate the Pawsitive, a companion e-short to WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty (Echelon Press.) Your chances to win will increase with every comment you leave!

So, before this planet revolves one more time, let’s get this revolution started and put a pawsitive spin on life!

Between now and Monday, consider:

What would it take for you to look in the mirror
with a more pawsitive eye?

Please leave a comment while it's fresh in your mind. Tell all your friends about this blog post! Then stop by Monday to read our thoughts on this. Review other comments and if you feel motivated (we know you will!), share any new thoughts you have!

Hey, none of us has the time or inclination to reinvent the wheel or ourselves. But who wouldn’t benefit from accentuating the pawsitive a bit more? All it takes is a small revolution here and a gentle realignment there.

Join us here each week for more

Accentuate the Pawsitive

revolutionary topics!

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Blue Cotton Gown - Patricia Harmon

Over the next two days, WOOF will feature a very special WOOFer, author, Patricia Harmon, or Fuzz (the name she chose for the the sisterhood of WOOF!). "My dog mix is beagle-fox terrier and my name will be Fuzz. Don't ask me why. It just came to me."

That's what's nice about being an over-50 woman! We don't have to explain everything we do! So, without further delay, here's Fuzz, er...I mean Patricia Harman!

Patricia Harman, a nurse-midwife, manages a women’s health clinic with her husband, Tom, an ob-gyn, in West Virginia—a practice where patients open their hearts, where they find care and sometimes refuge. Patsy’s memoir juxtaposes the tales of these women with her own story of keeping a small medical practice solvent and coping with personal challenges.

Her patients range from Appalachian mothers who haven’t had the opportunity to attend secondary school to Ph.D.’s on cell phones. They come to Patsy’s small, windowless exam room and sit covered only by blue cotton gowns, and their infinitely varied stories are in equal parts heartbreaking and uplifting. The nurse-midwife tells of their lives over the course of a year and a quarter, a time when her outwardly successful practice is in deep financial trouble, when she is coping with malpractice threats, confronting her own serious medical problems, and fearing that her thirty-year marriage may be on the verge of collapse.

Patricia Harman has spent over thirty years caring for women as a midwife, first as a lay-midwife, delivering babies in cabins and on communal farms in West Virginia, and later as a nurse-midwife in teaching hospitals and in a community hospital birthing center.

For the past twenty years, Ms. Harman has been a nurse-midwife on the faculty of The Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University and most recently West Virginia University. In 1998 she went into private practice with her husband, Tom, an OB/Gyn, in Morgantown, West Virginia. Here they devoted their lives to caring for women and bringing babies into the world in a gentle way.

When, in 2003, the cost of liability insurance for Obstetrics sky-rocketed from $70,000 a year to $110,000, the Harman's decided to give up deliveries. Though many loyal patients grieved the loss of their favorite mid-wife/physician team, the change in life style gave the author time to begin writing her first book, The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir.

She still lives and works with her husband, Ob/Gyn Thomas Harman, in Morgantown, West Virginia at their clinic, Partners in Women's Health Care. Though she no longer attends births, she provides care for women in early pregnancy and through-out the life span. She brings to this work the same dedication and compassion she brought to obstetrics.

Praise for Blue Cotton Gown:

“A flower child who found her calling after coaching a friend through a home birth, nurse-midwife Harman works with her ob-gyn husband at a West Virginia clinic. In her sweetly perceptive memoir, she reveals how her exam room becomes a confessional. Coaxing women in thin blue gowns to share secrets—about abusive boyfriends, OxyContin habits, unplanned pregnancies—she reminds them that they’re not alone.” —People Magazine

“Here is an intimate account of a woman, both her career as a midwife and her life as the wife of a doctor in West Virginia. Her patients’ lives are stories of hope and loss; her marriage is a story of love and faith accompanied by debt and tension. Well-written and heartfelt.” —Boston Globe

“A moving and illuminating memoir from a talented nurse-midwife about the troubled courageous women in her care.” —Shelf Awareness

Check back tomorrow for the interview with author, Patricia Harmon!

An Oct. 2008 Indie Next selection

Blue Cotton Gown - Amazon

Also featured this week on Bookland Heights


Mary Cunningham (Milkbone)

Mary Cunningham Books

Cynthia's Attic Blog

The Red Dress Diary: Entry One

Mad Dog's gettin' married! Every Friday we'll be reading from her "secret" diary as the big day approaches! Shhh... Here's entry number one:

Meeting the Kids: What a difference four decades make! Widowed at 57, I never dreamed that I would ever find love again after losing my partner of almost 40 years. Then I met Tom, and will be walking down the aisle for the second time as a sixty-year-old bride.

Naturally, everything is completely different with this relationship and subsequent marriage. For one thing, I have gone from having no children to four grown children and seven grandchildren. And that brings us to the topic of this first entry in The Red Dress Diary, aptly named after the fact that I will be married in a red dress.

Meeting Tom's kids was terrifying. But being fearful was wasted energy. Within a few minutes of each introduction, I found myself feeling like I finally had what I always wanted--kids! And although there have been some adjustments to these and many other changes in my life, I feel that meeting and getting to know the kids has made me a better, more accepting person.

I discovered the secret in blending families is to just relax and enjoy the new and different personalities and relationships. I have to admit that the first time one of the girls asked if her son could call me "Mimi," I felt a bit uncomfortable. But that acceptance made me understand that whether we grow up with our family members or inherit them, we just need to accept and respect each other--despite the differences. I am already finding out that when acceptance comes first, love and understanding will just fall into place.

--Melinda (Mad Dog)

Happy 50th, Barbie!

Barbie® Turns 50 Today! Which, of course, qualifies her as an official WOOFer! And do we ever have a special treat for her...and you. A visit with Rhonda Dossett, one of our colleagues at Echelon Press. From her home in Oklahoma, she shares this beautiful Barbie story:

In 1963, my grandmother gave me one of the first Barbies. That doll shared much of my life – I actually still have her. Her blonde ponytail is a little thin in places, but her blue eye shadow looks as fresh as it did way back then.

In the photo accompanying this blog, it was December of 1964. I was in my grandmother's kitchen, celebrating my sixth birthday with my daily playmates:

1) My younger brother is there. He was the poor soul who was usually consigned to minor roles in our make-believe games in exchange for his inclusion in our adventures. His mouth is open in protest about something. (That was usual too);
2) My best friend, Tammy, who had come to the party accompanied by her Barbie, (note the doll nearest the cake) is on my left. Tammy was probably waiting for me to direct the action (I was bossy even then);
3) I'm in the center – and you'll note that my Barbie attended too (see the doll in lower right corner). My grandmother made my dress, my Barbie's dress, and Tammy's Barbie's dress. We loved those Barbie dolls with a passion.

I still have my Barbie dolls and most of her elaborate ball gowns. I also have Tammy's doll.

Back in the Stone Ages, kids in Oklahoma had to be 6-years-old by the end of September or they had to wait until the next fall to start first grade. With a December birthday, I can't tell you how much I yearned to start first grade early. Tammy too, although she was even younger. I remember us commiserating in our misery – the unfairness of it all.

Kindergarten wasn't available, so we spent our time as kids used to do – long days playing outside in all but the worst weather. Our Barbies went with us – and yeah, my brother did too. We were free to roam our territory – about two blocks square with impunity. If we strayed, my grandmother knew before we got home. She had spies everywhere. (My mother had a job that year; my father was recovering from back surgery; and my grandmother was responsible for us during the day.)

Tammy lived just down the road, only a large pasture separating my grandparents' house from hers. She was the baby of her family – the last child of parents who were nearly the same age as my grandparents. Yes, she was spoiled. But she was also joyful. She was a happy soul. She sang all the time.

She also had leukemia.

When Tammy died the following summer her mother gave me Tammy's Barbie. I didn't really understand death then. I didn't understand she wasn't coming back or where she went. But I didn't want the doll to be lonely.

The next fall I started first grade. I took both Barbies with me.

-- Rhonda Dossett
Copyright 2009

The Southern Half of Evelyn David
Murder Off the Books & Murder Takes the Cake (May 2009)
evelyndavid.com
thestilettogang.blogspot.com

Evelyn David is the pseudonym for Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett. While many fans who attend mystery conventions have chatted with both halves of Evelyn David, Marian and Rhonda have yet to meet in person. For more details on this unusual partnership, visit their website at http://www.evelyndavid.com. In addition to Murder Off the Books and Murder Takes the Cake, both from Echelon Press, Evelyn David is the author of several short stories including Riley Come Home in the Missing anthology from Echelon Press.

For another perspective check out author, Amy Goldman Koss in the LA Times. My Barbie

Happy Mother's Day ... in February?

I'm not a day over 38 so how come my daughter turned 39 today?

What’s up with THAT?

Hmm? Check DOB on my driver’s license and/or passport, you say? Okay, back in a min…

AAAACCCCKKK!

So my daughter is NOT one year older than me? And it really was a Monday morning 39 years ago that I stood in a puddle of “water” applying eyeliner while father-to-be fired up the used Olds outside our mobile home to whisk us off to the Naval Air Station hospital in Jacksonville, FL?

All kidding aside, I couldn’t be happier to be right here, right now, witnessing how she’s blossomed into a beautiful and amazing young woman, daughter, wife & mother.

Happy Birthday, Jenn!

Yeah, I’m already planning how we’ll celebrate her big 4-0!

(Oh, good lord, in only 11 years SHE’LL be a Woman Only Over Fifty, too!... Just like the day she was born, breathe…breathe… )


Diana aka d.d. dawg

Fetching WOOFer Feet!

I have a thing for feet.

Back of the ankles and toes especially.

At this age, trying my hand at yoga again, I’m reminded that feet are so neglected. (Ya think? High heels!) Except for the occasional pedicure, we rarely play with our toes, just letting them wiggle and our feet flex.

Good news? Once we start pampering them a little, they start to forgive us. AND guess what? They love being up in the air. Higher than our heads. (Think babies grabbing their toes and sticking them in their mouths!)

I posted much of this on my personal blog and got this wonderful comment from Eileen Williams, of Feisty Side of Fifty fame:

Leave it to a Master Woofer to remind me that my dogs are barkin'! I haven't let my poor overworked feet hang out above my head for years. Now that you've reminded me, they're just itching to wriggle freely, straight up and proudly held high.

Okay, so tell me. Why are you still sitting there with your feet under your desk? Get off that chair, onto the floor, feet in the air…now wiggle those WOOFer toes!

Hmm, and notice whether you're losing fat on the balls of your feet. Hey, that's what Mad Dog claims in our book!

Diana (aka d.d.dawg)

SHRINK TO FIT

I recently saw the movie, The Women, and was struck by a conversation two characters had concerning the fact that women often “shrink to fit” their mates.

Since we are generally, by nature, “people pleasers,” I think most of us often give up a lot-- or give in too much-- in many of our relationships. We start by trying to be the daughter we think we are supposed to be, adjust to blend into our husband’s life and schedule, and make major “shrink to fit” sacrifices when we have children.

I think that is one of the many advantages of being over 50. Most of us have more freedom now, and no longer have to “shrink to fit” anyone. Not that we don’t always want to try to please others, as well as practice compromise in our relationships. It is just that, in our middle years, we can embrace just being who we are. We can spread our wings to their fullest span and fly! Nothing is there to hold us back.

Hopefully, we learned things like patience, persistence and appreciation for the world around us during our “shrink to fit” days. So when we do get that chance to fly, we take our time, sail through the currents, and soar higher than we could have in our younger years. And that is when we realize that the view is so much more spectacular when you have waited a while to see it.

Melinda--"Mad Dog"

"OLD" Friends

Remember when, in the 60s and 70s, one marketing strategy manufacturers used to entice shoppers to snatch their laundry soap off the grocery shelf was to include a “gift” inside each “specially marked” box? Customers proudly stood in line at the cash register, confident their detergent was, in fact, “stronger than dirt,” and a bit smug that they were savvy enough to spot and take advantage of an added bonus – a bath towel. Who cared that it was yet another item to be laundered and therefore increased the need to buy more detergent. It was free!

Oh, and what lovely towels they were. They were decorated with big splashy roses. Red and pinkish roses, in all their full-bloom glory, from one end of the cloth to the other. Speaking of fabric, one must assume that in order to package each towel along with the powder detergent, it had to be fairly thin. It may not, however, explain why the texture of every towel was like that of an emery board.

So there we were, back in the day, my “old” friend and me, at the A&P in our small Southern Indiana hometown. In a hurry, we’d split the shopping list, Carol taking one half of the store, me the other.

What happened next created one of those moments when time stands still. Often in those instances, it takes a second to comprehend just what has occurred. But on this day, unfortunately, I knew exactly what I had heard. And then I heard it again.

“ROSES!”

It was Carol, at the other end of the store, on the detergent aisle. She’d spotted the brightly colored box that we’d just seen advertised on TV for the hundredth time. With the same zeal as the lady in the ad, though with not quite the same size viewing audience, but believe me, it was big enough, Carol was reenacting the commercial.

Just the other day we were again together in a grocery store. Trying to select the best fruit, with the produce manager restocking right next to her, Carol kept dropping bananas on the floor – then placing them back on the display.

I will forever be grateful she didn’t burst into a rendition of “I’m a Chiquita banana…”

I wouldn’t have put it past her though. She still has the spunk to do such things and does so without shame. I just think this time it slipped her mind.

Age has its rewards. Like two “old” friends still shopping together.

Carol (Proffitt) is an original in many respects...only one of which is being a charter member of WOOF. For a story about her delightful mother, check out WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty!

Diana aka d.d. dawg

A Number Too BIG To Ignore!

Fifty. The number catches the attention. Not only of women reaching that milestone, but women younger and older than 50, men of all ages and even “tweens.”

This claim is based on the past weekend’s Decatur Book fest. In the Echelon booth, perched on a stand, stacked on a table, here, there, everywhere…were copies of Women Only Over Fifty, a big old 50 plastered on a red cover. Yep, hard to ignore.

So for two days I met the most wonderful people who were drawn to that number. Men who bought our book for their spouses—to show support if their wives were feeling a little anxious about turning 50 or to honor the fact their partner had accepted it with grace. Young women who bought the book to celebrate a sister or an aunt who would soon quality as a WOOFer or were already enjoying the decade. A young man bought it for his mother. A junior high student stood staring at the cover for the longest time, drawn to it for reasons I will never know, and maybe she hasn’t even yet processed.

Then there were the women of this “certain age” who couldn’t wait to buy it for another friend who was crossing that threshold either willingly or being dragged.

Perhaps the women who touched me the most, when I asked who they wanted the book dedicated to, were the ones who proudly pointed to themselves and answered, “Me!” I particularly remember one woman who then quickly added, “I deserve to be nice to myself.” I told her, she was the reason we wrote the book. She represents the best of this WOOFer breed.

WOOFers. Women not afraid to embrace (with vigor!) wherever they are on their path. Especially so when times are challenging and unfamiliar. But on we go. Head held high and humor well intact!

A big thank you to ALL you wonderful people who stopped by the booth and made my weekend!

The book sales were great. Which means: There are a lot of us out there, in numbers too big to ignore,

and we’re gonna…

WOOF on!

Diana (d.d.dawg)