Uncategorized Archives - Page 18 of 19 - Mothering in the Middle

“Pregnant at 64?”

I love Jill Smokler’s blog, Scary Mommy. On any given day, I can laugh along with all of her under-current comments, and look forward to receiving her posts.

Today, I took umbrage with http://www.scarymommy.com/google-analytics, which began with the statement: “People are weird.” And ended with, “I’m 64 and think I’m pregnant. Um, congrats?”

So, I sat with this for a while, and read it again. I reread it a few more times and then privately wrote her. She suggested I post my comments on her site. They are as follows:

Cyma August 11, 2011 at 9:30 am

I usually read your daily posts and chuckle. However, today, your comment about pregnant women @ 64 touched a nerve. As the writer and creator of NURTURE: Stories of New Midlife Mothers, the website http://www.MotheringintheMiddle.com, and several other entities designed to support women choosing motherhood over 40, I wanted to bring more awareness to your comment. Understanding that you are younger than I am and that all comments reflect the writer’s perspective, several of the women in my projects have indeed chosen motherhood in their late 50′s and early 60′s. As a new older mother, I am here to bring societal awareness to women’s ability in the 21st century to make a myriad of life choices (esp. regarding motherhood) irrelevant of age. Thanks for the opportunity to express this point of view!

Perhaps, in 10 years, we will all laugh at the idea of (this group of) new older mothers having/getting children with the same spirit that we laugh at old people needing glasses. Perhaps one will become synonymous with the other. Until that time, […]

If Only

by Peg O'Neill

I recently had to do something that is a difficult thing for most doctors, especially pediatricians: I attended the wake of one of my patients. While the death of a child is almost always premature, this was a particularly heart-wrenching story, of a healthy, happy ten year old boy, who died as a result of a tragic drowning accident, the details of which I still don’t know, but what I do know is that he was not wearing a life preserver. Perhaps, on that gorgeous, horrible summer day, if the current of the river on which he was tubing had been just a little gentler, or if the wind had been blowing on a slightly altered path, or if something else had been different, maybe he would be here today, playing baseball, cracking jokes, spending time outside in the neighborhood with his friends, as ten year old boys tend to do in our town when the weather is good. And while no one will ever know whether he would have been ultimately OK if he had been wearing a life preserver, this lingering question will likely forever haunt his family, and the rest of us: if only he had been wearing one, would he still be here? […]

Musings of an Online Midlife Mother (6:07 a.m.)

Today, I awoke to find Karen Maezen Miller’s blog, Cheerio Road, in my emailbox. With quiet time, and everyone still in bed, I decided to read it, and scrolled down her “must reads” to find Jena Strong’s I Am Good Enough, with musings about “coming out,” which were breathtaking. Scrolling down her “must reads” I found life coach Tara Sophia Mohr’s “10 Rules for Brilliant Living.” So brilliant, I will be posting them on our site, shortly. […]

A Night in the Life of a Mommy Blogger (8:40 p.m.)

by Cyma Shapiro

My children off to bed, I’m here, like so many of you, able to enter the (world of the) Internet and do some “research.” Follow my journey.

We will soon welcome, Dear Reader, the work of Karen Hug-Nagy, whose posts will appear shortly on our site. While researching her work, I stumbled on Jen Singer’s http://www.Mommasaid.net. She welcomes her viewers by saying, “Welcome to Mommablog, my blog about a mom’s life, just like yours.” A click on her Guest Post link immediately led me to Meagan Francis, author of the new book “The Happiest Mom” and the blog site of the same name: http://thehappiestmom.com – a site I visited for quite a while, trying to see if the moniker fit (me).

[…]

Found in… the Los Angeles Times (12/3/07) by Mary Engel

California’s risky trend: an over-40 baby boom

As one measure triples, experts warn of dangers for mother and babies.

One woman was on her second career and married to a man who already had children. She was certain she didn’t want a child of her own. Then she hit 45, and suddenly having a baby was the only thing that mattered. […]

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Grief (A Tribute to My Mother)
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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Grief (A Tribute to My Mother)

Daily Living, Uncategorized

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Grief (A Tribute to My Mother)

by Julie Donner Andersen

My mom was a clown. Literally. At least she started out that way. She and her partner, Beverly, had an act called “Bobo and Dodo.” They entertained at children’s parties and marched in parades. A few years later, they became rag dolls called “Patches & Pockets” and were offered a TV show at WTOL-TV in Toledo, Ohio. Their show ran for 18 years in northwest Ohio and parts of Indiana and Michigan, and even won a local Emmy Award. […]

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. […]

40 Awesome Blogs for Midlife Moms

I’m a big believer in spreading the wealth and joy. I’m also a big believer in community and collaboration. So, it is in this spirit that I decided to print the above-named list, recently compiled by www.NursingSchools.net. Sure, it pays to be #1 (NURTURE: Stories of New Midlife Mothers/www.midlifemothers.org) and #15 (www.MotheringintheMiddle.com)– both my creations and my newest“babies.” It also pays to share the guts and glory of midlife motherhood together. I hope I can offer the writings of some of these bloggers in the near future. For now, they are a compendium for you to sample. Enjoy! […]

Found In…

Welcome to our newest incarnation, “Found In…” We will feature blog posts and articles found on other sites which address topics germane to and involving new midlife mothers. This is our first blog post…Found In…News Mirror – UK, by Danny Buckland ” Surge in mid-life mothers leave doctors worried over health risks” – 5/26/2010

The number of 40-year-old mothers has almost trebled over the last two decades.

Data published yesterday showed 26,976 40-year-olds had babies in 2009 compared with 9,336 in 1989 and 14,252 in 1999. […]

Happy New Year to You and Yours

by Cyma Shapiro

This year has been one of the most monumental, shape-shifting years of my entire life.

I have concretely passed through that “time of life” and found renewed power, strength and purpose. I’ve found a mission; new dedication to others and an intense desire for connection, especially to women. I was always living on the outside longing to come in from the cold. Now, I’m surrounded by warmth and found a true understanding of what it means to be a woman in this moment in history. […]