Mothers Over 50 Archives - Page 9 of 26

Wantings

by Barbara Herel

“Pulling a Veruca” – that’s what my daughter and I call it when someone whines and pouts like the mink-coated brat, Vercua Salt, from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Trouble is, I’m the one doing it these days. You can hear me sing this obnoxious tune every time I look at my worn-out couch:

I want a couch

I want a new couch

One that is more chic than it is shabby. Don’t make me batty.

Give it to me

Now!

And cue the Oompa Loompas to cart me and said furniture away…. […]

Winter Moments

by Lori Pelikan Strobel

Photo courtesy of Lori P. Strobel

I look at the pristine fallen snow and feel somewhat melancholy that there are no little footprints in the yard, no snowman or snow angels. Since I now have adult children, the snow in my yard remains fluffy.

Looking at this unspoiled snow, I notice the immense silence in the air as the downy white flakes fall. The branches look like they have been coated with powdered sugar and I feel the cold start to sneak into my bones. The only marks left in the snow are made by my dog, Louie. I see his paw prints meander throughout the yard to his special area. There, the white snow is dotted with yellow and brown. […]

My Journey to Motherhood Was a Battlefield

by Michelle Eisler

My journey to motherhood was a battlefield; my mothering experience has been one of joy and thankfulness.

But, in recent months there have been little cracks developing in who I am as a person (aside from being a mother). A child is an incredible gift – one that has the power to make you become acutely aware of what was tarnished, broken or missing from your own childhood.

I have learned I will never be able to be the mother I hope to be until I deal with the child I was. […]

50 Is The New 40

by Maggie Lamond Simone

They say 50 is the new 40.

I’ve been hearing that more and more lately as my half-century mark is winding down its tenure. Most of my friends are saying it with a kind of trepidation in their eyes, a hopeful “please don’t freak about this – you’re not going to freak about this, are you?” sense of panic lingering just behind their encouraging smiles. Most of my friends are younger than me, because their children are friends with my children, and I started … late, let’s call it.

The truth is, I have been kind of freaking out about this. It simply doesn’t seem accurate. I remember clearly when my mom was this age, and I remember it clearly because I was pushing 30 myself. In contrast, my oldest child is pushing puberty. Our combined hormones could generate enough power to light a small town. And I’m happy when I remember his name. […]

Brain Fog and Menopause

by Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D., and Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D.

Jokes about menopause often get a laugh. But if you’re a woman approaching a certain age, hot flashes and memory issues aren’t so funny. It’s comforting to know that researchers are taking this seriously – a new study indicates that menopausal memory lapses are normal.

According to the results from the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, concerns about memory are not a figment of your imagination. Subjects who reported difficulties remembering did not perform as well on objective cognitive tests. And it took those who experienced more hot flashes and more negative emotions longer to solve memory problems. […]

Gray Matter

by Deatra Haime Anderson

I’m of a certain age (okay, I turned 50 last August) and have been battling gray hair for at least 10 years. It all seemed to start innocently enough … a few hairs here, a few there, and then before I knew it, it was much more than a few and I didn’t think twice about coloring it.

There are two camps when it comes to the gray hair thing: those that embrace (and rock) it and those that well … don’t. I’m definitely in the latter. I look fairly young for my age (really! I’m the lucky recipient of great genes and plumpy skin) and am sure gray hair would age me. And the thing is, I just don’t want to look older. I have a seven-year-old daughter and even though I usually am the oldest mom at the park (I once had the lovely realization that another mom was exactly half my age), I’m vain enough that I don’t want to look like the oldest mom at the park. […]

Mom on the Edge of…

by Maureen O'Neill Davis

I used to think I was an average mom, raising children under exceptional circumstances. I mean, I married at age 37 and became a mother for the first time at age 39. The word of my first child’s birth came during a month of enduring four major hurricanes and merely a few hours after being notified that our IVF procedure had failed.

I went from trying to become pregnant to having a baby and crafting a nursery, in 15 days. Nine months later, family circumstances gave way to my getting (and later adopting) two more young children. I went from zero (kids) to three in 18 months. I believe that’s a bit exceptional, and, perhaps, even a dash of the life of an “over achiever.” But, it seems that today, that’s how women our age do it, isn’t it? […]

The War Between the Sexes

by Marc Parsont

The war between the sexes never really ends. I’m not talking about the inequality in wages, the glass ceiling, the cost of dry cleaning or hair styling or being taken advantage of by mechanics in general.

I’m talking about toilet seats. Up or down. And the general leading the charge in our house is my six-year-old son. […]

Nine Tips On How to Prepare For (New Older) Mothering Over 40, 45 and 50!

by Cyma Shapiro

Photo by Shana Sureck

You are so happy! You see the finish line before you and are racing toward new older motherhood with joy and trepidation. However, you haven’t thought out the rest of this journey. In fact, I’ll bet that you haven’t thought much past the blessed event.

Whether you are marrying into a family with children, are adopting, fostering, having children through a surrogate, undergoing natural childbirth or IVF, or becoming a guardian, the end result may be the same.

Here are nine tips for planning in advance:

1) Shore up your support team – whether it is friends, family, a therapist or support group. You are about to be embark on the ride of your life. Having cheerleaders around you cannot hurt. […]

Travelling With a Toddler

by Ellie Stoneley

Driving down to the airport, the nervous queasy feeling grew and grew. By the time we arrived, I’d quite happily have turned around and sat in traffic for another 4 hours rather than face the security queues and the stress of flying 12 hours with a toddler on my own.

I was prepared, I had the bare minimum in my hand luggage. Only, the bare minimum when you’re flying with a toddler is quite a lot. Here’s what I’d brought:

nappies

wipes

changing mat

extra vests

extra tights

extra outfits (all in case of catastrophe or flight delay)

small pyjamas

tiny cardigan (because it gets cold on the plane)

book with pictures of baby animals

stuffed giraffe

blankie

clean knickers for me

change of outfit for me

I put Hope in her buggy for check in. Joy of joys, the lovely lady on the desk was far less terrifying than her red lipstick and slicked back hair led me to believe. She blocked out the seat on the plane next to me. As the flight was fairly quiet, she also confirmed that the baby was small enough still to have a sky cot. […]