Graceful Women

Welcome to the Graceful Women’s Series. Where the theory meets the reality.

Posts from women just like you and me on the joys and struggles we all share as we age gracefully.

Grab a tea, sit back, enjoy the read.

Taking care of Mom

Welcome to the very first in my Graceful Women Series. Stories where we move past the theory, and hear how women really experience life after forty.

I am honoured to have Lori Hoeck, from Think Like A Black Belt, share her story on Taking Care of Mom READ MORE

A deeper connection

Through my review of the DivaCup, I was fortunate enough to be contacted by the co-founders of Lunapads, Suzanne Siemens and Madeleine Shaw. Wanting to know more about these women, whose philosophy on women’s health and environmental health matched that of Silver & Grace, I read their bios.  This statement about Madeleine jumped off the page at me:

“Switching from tampons to cloth pads brought her the unexpected benefit of discovering a deeper connection with her body”.

I immediately knew I had to have her write a Graceful Women’s post. I am honoured that she accepted my request.  Here is Madeleine’s story READ MORE

You are an empty nester when …

Linda Abbit responded to my Empty Nest post by pointing out that you can get hit with the double whammy of Empty Nest and losing a parent.

I *thought* I had gone through empty nest syndrome when our son left for college in the Fall of 07, but now I’m not so sure. I was busy caregiving my mom, and now that she passed away in May, I have this intuition that it’s just beginning. I’ve been a big mess of emotions and tears since then, but will sort it out I’m sure. I know I have to give my self time to process these huge changes in my life.

I loved her openess in expressing her emotions, and the fact that she was being realistic about the time needed to heal. A perfect Graceful Women Series candidate.

I would say from her wonderful words below that she is well on the road to adjustment, and in typical Linda fashion has flipped a painful period in her life into something fun and playful.

Linda is the author of Tender Loving Eldercare and here is how she knows she truly is an Empty Nester READ MORE

Love after 40 … and beyond

I met Chris Zydel through Twitter. Not sure exactly how, but I think I made some comment about how wonderful Mr. Very Right is, and she piped right in. You see, Chris and I have very similar stories in that we both found deep and profound love after 40.

Chris is a talented artist and author of Creative Juices Arts. And here is how she came to find love after 40 READ MORE

Second Chances

For my post on Empty Nest Syndrome is very real, Wendi Kelly wrote:

My first batch are now 27 and 32 and when I got here the first time, I chickened out as I saw empty nest syndrome coming down the road and started over! …and my grandaughter and my daughter are only a few months apart.

This intrigued me, and could easily have been me. By the time I was in my early thirties, my children had entered their teen years. Had the man I was with been the right man for me, I would have started over myself.

Wendi is author of Life’s Little Inspirations, and here is her story on second chances. READ MORE

A love letter

I met Karen through a group of women at work. Actually, more a group of women who are very close friends who all happen to work in the same organization. I was honoured to be included in a number of their activities where I got to know Karen even better.

Like all of us, Karen has experienced her share of life’s sorrows. But her warmth and caring for her friends and family never wavers.

This year, Karen got married, surrounded by these friends and family.

Before her wedding, Karen wrote a love letter explaining how she met Lorne, with a beautiful paragraph at the end specifically for her beau. READ MORE

The gluten-free diet and osteoporosis

As we age, it becomes more important than ever to take responsibility for our own health and welfare. And sometimes this means a long and frustrating search to find out what is going on in our body.

Davina Haisell suffered for years with a misdiagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Still not feeling any healthier, she kept searching until she discovered she had non-celiac gluten-intolerance. The first sentence in her story says it all about how she felt at the end of this health journey. READ MORE

Wait! I’m Too Young to Have Osteoporosis!

On another Graceful Women post, The gluten-free diet and osteoporosis, Betsy Wuebker mentioned that she was diagnosed with osteoporosis. In her comment, she talked about some of the contributing factors to this disease. Osteoporosis is an important concern for menopausal women, so I asked Betsy if she would elaborate on its causes and treatments.

Betsy is author of the blog Passing Thru, and here is her story READ MORE

Why I went gray; or, conversations with Ed

The top post at Silver & Grace, based on search hits, is Gray hair can be beautiful and sexy. Here I briefly touch on my own decision to go gray, and display a photo of myself in all my gray haired glory.

It’s a hot topic, this going gray business. Hot enough for Anne Kreamer to write an entire book on it, which I reviewed and then gave away in a contest.

Andrea Squires was the lucky winner of the contest, and receipt of the book coincided with her own going gray transition. I asked Andrea to tell her going gray journey, and what she shared was incredible story of self acceptance. READ MORE