Challenging Year

It has been a challenging year for many of us.  Loss, sadness and grief  seemed to take a bite out of our normally optimistic outlook.

Rather than let  grief extinguish our spirits, we choose to look forward with joy rather than pessimism.  We are grateful for our friends and for those of you who read our ramblings and especially for those who write comments.  

We are inundated with media, as it is everywhere and there is nothing we can research or read that doesn’t prompt multiple ads  and/or complimentary products or ideas.  That is why we are particularly appreciative for those of you who read our writing. Thank you for letting us prattle.

There were several stories that recently caught our attention. This one made us wonder why we never thought about how we as young women accepted the term  “The Curse”.  But that is what our mothers called it so we just went along.

 Thanks to last week’s New York Times story, Gen Z women are not taking “The Curse” lying down as described in “Welcome to the Age of Menopause Gold Rush.

“Gen Z daughters are profoundly frank when it comes to their ever-evolving bodies: They would never call their period being “on the rag,” or, God forbid, “the curse.” They have period underpants marketed for slumber parties, tampons that come in adorable wrappers, first-period kits that include hot-water bottles and “conversation starter” sets of cards for discussing the milestone with the adults in their lives. How pathetic would it be for their mothers to be so embarrassed of their own hormonal shifts? Call it generational trickle-up”.

The lead image of this article is a photograph of a naked Gwyneth Paltrow painted entirely in gold. Gwyneth Paltrow, 50; Cameron Diaz, 50; Drew Barrymore, 47; Abby Wambach, 42; and Glennon Doyle, 46 are well known women who are vested in a startup called Evernow whose business is in the telemedicine industry. Its function is to facilitate the delivery of prescription hormone therapies via subscription. 

Paltrow who is a stunning 50 year old writes that “the sun has left her celestial fingerprints all over me,” but “I have a mantra I insert into those reckless thoughts that try to derail me: I accept. I accept the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles. I accept my body and let go of the need to be perfect, look perfect, defy gravity, defy logic, defy humanity. I accept my humanity.”

Okay she can say that she can accept her loosing skin and wrinkles but she is also a spokesperson for an alternative Botox that she says makes her look “less pissed off.”   The answer seems to be that we can accept our changing bodies and/or we use products that soften the impact of aging.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/20/style/menopause-womens-health-goop.html

Whatever choices this generation of 50+ women choose, those of us of the “more grown up age” respect their decisions.  We are proud of you but we are also proud of our Baby Boomer pals who look great in their 70s and 80s and cherish each day with curiosity and laughter. We admire our friends for their style and grace and elegance.  And best of all we treasure their friendships.

Let us resolve to be accepting and kind to those who take a different path in 2023 than the one we may choose.

Happy New Year to all.

Lucy and Claudia