Daily Living Archives - Page 71 of 74 - Mothering in the Middle

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. […]

Am I Invisible? (Or, Where Are We All Heading?)

by Cyma Shapiro

I think the dilemma started when my Physician’s Assistant (PA) of ten years left my MD’s office last month for another medical practice. Within a flash, all my years of personal coddling, instant communication (I was given her “inside” phone number) and very good health care were eradicated for this: I am now just another number, another cog in the wheel/larger scheme of things. Right now, I feel very, very unimportant. […]

(I’m a) Midlife Soccer Mom!

by Cyma Shapiro

OK. I’ve said it and it’s out. I think I’ve become one of “them.” The transformation was subtle, but quick. Last week, I looked back and saw that it had already happened. It was really quite painless. I actually suggest that you try it. The “it” is letting go. The result? I’m now a Midlife Soccer Mom. Quite an image, huh? […]

Just A Number

by Peg O'Neill, M.D.

They say that age is just a number, but I’m not so sure. Try telling this to my 10 year old son, or his five year old (excuse me, five and a HALF) year old brother. Or to the almost sixteen year old in my office the other day who was counting the hours until her birthday, when she could get her learner’s permit. When you are young, getting older is a good thing. Your age determines whether you are “big enough” to get certain privileges, like biking to school on your own, or being able to drive, or staying up late to watch the Red Sox game. You have to be old enough. The older you are, the more you get to do. The older you are, the more you are in charge. Old is cool, when you’re young. […]

The Young One

by Andrea Lynn

When someone suggested I might write for the Mothering in the Middle project, it seemed a perfect fit. Older women, coming to motherhood after other things. Infertility as a side-dish for some of us, adding that extra dash of gratefulness to our motherhood journey. Issues of aging – our parents, ourselves. A perfect fit. […]

Dream Date with Mom

by Julie Donner Andersen

Being the maaahvelous parent I am (take it from me, because my kids will lie), I absorb all the literature I can get my hands on which have anything to do with parental improvement. Recently, I read that going on individual “dates” once a month with each of your kids will increase your intimate parent/child bond. […]

53

by Valerie Gillies

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved on stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” Pericles

This birthday got to me. It’s never those clean, easy numbers, like 30 or 50 that do it. Instead, odd ones sneak up on me, like 45, the age at which my mother died (subconsciously assuming I wouldn’t live past the exact number of days she had.) 21 meant nothing, but 28 meant I was really an adult. 53 hit hard. By the most optimistic estimates, I’m halfway through. […]

Passing

by Deatra Haime Anderson

Here is my confession: I almost never admit my real age. Even when I’m in the company of someone who knows what it is, I won’t say the number. Despite myriad liberal and feminist viewpoints, my age is the one space I cannot make peace with right now. Although I never outright lie about how old I am (except for when I have to enter my birthdate for website memberships), I do lie by omission all the time. […]

Looking Back

by Cyma Shapiro

I just celebrated my 15^th anniversary. This milestone year is supposed to be immortalized with crystal. For several weeks, I endeavored to buy my husband something made out of the real thing. However, not finding anything that resonated with me, I settled on a very tiny interesting translucent crystal (the stone), and vowed to emphasize the reflection this occasion and gift might provide me. […]

Don’t Call Me Grandma!

by Linda K. Wertheimer

“Click, clack,” I read, then paused. “Moo,” Simon shouted as he cuddled in my lap in a chair at Starbucks.
A man walked up and smiled. “Your grandson is so adorable,” he said.

I resisted the urge to glower. This man after all was paying Simon a compliment. I smiled back, then corrected the error as my 3-year-old son sucked his thumb and held onto my ear. “He’s not my grandson. I’m his mother.” […]