Wear our experience?

If you’ve tuned into our latest webisode, you’ll hear our ladies talking about the treatments they had, how they felt before and during consultation, then after their respective procedures. Robina talks about being shy to disclose to her group of friends because of their pre-conceived notions about treatment. In the end, all were thrilled with the results, noting that it was the subtlety of their individual outcomes that were most pleasing. Friends and family noticed that they looked “fresh” and “great” without knowing that they had had anything done.

So, is it how we feel about ourselves or how others view us that guides our decisions? And, as more of the “post raising kids” demographic re-enters the workforce, our presence is changing the landscape. The question is: Do we proudly wear our years of experience or do we quietly blend in with our more youthful “peers”? How do you feel? How would you answer this question?

Finally, if you check out our new “In The Media” section, you’ll see that we have begun to be noticed by the media. A particularly interesting mention was in the Toronto Star’s “Adventures in Aging” column by writers Josey Vogels and Li Robbins. They have very strong opinions about marketers pushing anti-aging products onto what they refer to as “the silver bullets of marketing” or “primetime women” – 50+ women. Read their “Don’t you even try to define us” and tell us what your opinion is, we want to hear from you!

Karla chimes in

Hello and welcome to my first blog entry. If you’ll recall, I’m your new moderator, Karla. With me, you’re going to get a view from the other side of 50. I’m 51, single and have two boys, aged 19 and 9 – one off to university, one to grade 4 – and have just re-entered the full-time work force after many years of freelancing (you’ll hear more about that in my next blog entry). I look forward to presenting some ideas that hopefully many of you will relate to or at least have an opinion about.

We have an update from your fabulous former blog moderator Alison. She has just become the proud mother of baby #2, a beautiful 7lb 9oz boy. ‘Twas a bit of a rough go, but mom and baby are doing great, and mom will will take some well deserved r&r. And thank goodness for grandmothers – Alison’s mom. She has jumped into full time doula duty and will run the show for a bit until Alison’s back on her feet.

As a belligerent, rebellious teenager, I used to fight with my mother at every turn – about everything. Ever since my first child was born, we’ve become buddies. We’re still very different people, but we’ve come to appreciate each other in a way that can only happen when you share common experiences – such as having children. And although we’re twenty something years apart, we’ve got more in common than ever before. Since I don’t have the same urgent need to assert myself, I’m so much more open to what she has to say – which is often insightful. How about you? Do you feel closer or not to the elder females in your life? Do you have more or less in common with them now than when you were a teenager? Submit your responses here.

I’d like to thank you Alison, for your great perspective, and wish you great good luck with your new son.

Do You (Ever?) Put Yourself First?

As women, I think we are often discouraged (silently or outwardly) from putting ourselves first - whether it’s a mentality we’ve gleaned from our own mothers, or from the messages in the media out there (how many cough and cold commercials for infants and babies show the father being the one to administer the medication at night while the mother slumbers away peacefully !?!).

I know it’s a fact that many of us often put our needs, wants desires and goals last - behind family, friends, careers - even our houses… I talked about all this, this week, with Genevieve, one of our fabulous defineyourself.ca women.

Ask yourself this question: how often do you effortlessly - and without guilt - put yourself first?

Click here to read my full interview.

Meet Margaret - One of the defineyourself.ca women!

I had a chance this week to chat with Margaret, one of the engaging women you’ll meet in the first webisode.

Like all the women, she is self-assured, funny, open, and has her own perspective on aging that I think echos what many of us feel about aging, beauty and society.

I wanted to ask her what it’s been like to be a part of this process and what the reaction was from her friends and family when she told them she was be embarking on this journey. The interview is posted here, I would love to hear your comments and share with the rest of the community, so please be sure to send them in!