FICTION Laura knew as soon as she walked into Georgina’s bright apartment that her friend wasn’t having a good day. Georgina looked sad as she greeted Laura and led her to the brightly colored sofa. “What’s wrong?” Laura asked. Georgina’s face crumpled immediately....
As I get closer to my 50th birthday on July 24th, I'm getting tired of people trying to tell me I'm not old. They obstinately don't understand that for me old is good. I have always been happy to get a year older because I experienced no great benefit to being young,...
My sister recently saw a production of the musical Oliver and emailed me that it reminded her of when I was in our high school production of the same musical. "Oh yeah," I mused. "Oliver. That was so much fun! My god, that was a hundred years ago. I was 17 and so...
In November I began watching The Walking Dead. I plowed through all the seasons available on Netflix and then downloaded part of season six from iTunes. Season six resumes tonight. Here's what I think so far. 1. What insanity/stupidity leads women (Lori, Maggie) to...
Last week I got all excited because my period was late and I fantasized that I'd entered menopause and was never going to menstruate again. Anyone who thinks menopause is very uncomfortable and I'm crazy to want it, here are two points: 1. Menstruation with fibroids...
I was at a party on Saturday, talking with a group of women who were all over the age of 50. One of them had recently recovered from a terrible bout of food poisoning. It had taken her the entire summer to regain her full health because of complications. She looked...
I'm writing this post to make one thing clear about the website How Old Do I Look? On this website you can temporarily upload any photo and it will make a guess as to whether the face(s) in that photo are male or female and how old that image appears. The program...
Today I turn 49 years old. I love my birthday. Each year I throw myself a party, and tonight many of my friends are coming over. I'm particularly excited about this party because it falls on my actual birthday. That doesn't always happen. Happy birthday to me! I'm...
My hair stylist recently made a comment about her children's definition of "old." She seemed to dislike their idea that she was just a couple of years away from being old, but I disliked her dislike. I said, "I don't think there's anything wrong with being old." She...
The other night I was at the meeting of a non-profit that works with refugees that have recently come to Chicago. The room contained about three people in their 20s, maybe three people in their 30s and three of us who were over 45. One of the young women in her 20s...
HBO's four-part series Olive Kitteridge is one of the best things I've ever watched. Frances McDormand is perfect in the title role, a middle-aged Maine native with layers of memories and emotions underneath her severe expression. It's based on Elizabeth Strout's...
Today I am 48 years old. I'm also a middle-aged woman with an edgy haircut. OH, yeah. This is edgy. Please note that I'm turning 48 years old on the 24th. It's a mathematical birthday!
I was walking down from the elevated train platform yesterday after work, on perfectly normal stairs, wearing perfectly flat sandals. I was taking my time and not rushing. Close to the bottom, my left ankle rolled - I don't know why. As I fell, I dropped my book and...
A friend described looking at this photo as feeling like "a kick in the stomach!" How about it Gen X? Is this disturbing or what?
My 46th birthday was in July, but I'm feeling like it's time to start calling myself 47. Why not? It's only nine months away. In the meantime: my Christmas application tells me there are 76 days until Christmas! October through December is my favorite time of the year.