_ Health HeadlinesHGB Dies at 90 By Sondra Forsyth articleAll of us who are "Boomers and Beyond" are hoping to live long and well. Helen Gurley Brown did exactly that. Here's a link to our ThirdAge tribute to her, which we posted on her 90th birthday: http://www.thirdage.com/celebrities/happy-90th-bday-helen-gurley-brown
_ World No Tobacco Day By Sondra Forsyth articleMay 31st is World No Tobacco Day 2012. If you're still puffing away, in spite of all the dire health warnings about smoking, consider making this the moment you commit to kicking the habit. Do it for yourself, and for those you love. Obviously, they want you to stay well and live long, but remember that you are also putting all those around you at risk by exposing them to secondhand smoke.
_ Dr. Marie's Advice About Bacterial Vaginosis By Sondra Forsyth articleAbout 50% of all cases of vaginitis, an inflammation or infection of the vagina, are caused by bacterial vaginosis. If BV is not treated, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pelvic pain and possible infertility. It can also lower your defenses against other infections. However in this digital age, when many women are turning to the Internet rather than see a doctor, a recent study found that fully two out of three women with bacterial vaginosis misdiagnosed themselves when they Googled their symptoms.
_ Overactive Bladder (OAB) & Incontinence Urinary HealthDr. Marie's Help for Incontinence By Sondra Forsyth article A 2008 article in the New England Journal of Medicinearticle revealed that 25 percent of perimenopausal women and 40 percent of postmenopausal women report leakage of urine. ThirdAge medical expert Marie Savard, M.D., author of "Ask Dr. Marie," says that the main causes of this annoying condition are decreased estrogen levels and aging pelvic muscles that are losing strength. She adds that obesity can exacerbate the condition, as can asthma, diabetes, a chronic cough, and medications such as diuretics, antihistamines, and antidepressants.
_ ParentingThe Unspeakable Pain of Losing a Child By Sondra Forsyth article The wrenching news of the three teenage boys whose lives were cut short during the recent school shootings in a little Ohio town touched us deeply here at ThirdAge. Like parents and grandparents across the nation, we were riveted by sorrow and horror as the coverage unfolded. The poignant statement by 16-year-old Demetrius Hewlin's mother and father seemed to us especially moving: "We are very saddened by the loss of our son and others in our Chardon community. Demetrius was a happy young man who loved life and his family and friends.
Rare Disease Day: 1 in 10 People Are Afflicted By Sondra Forsyth article Ten years ago at the age of 44, Liz Gorka was stunned when she was diagnosed with a disease she had never heard of before. Systemic sclerodema is a progressive disorder that causes the hardening of connective tissues and can seriously damage vital organs. As the Mayo Clinic site puts it, "For unknown reasons, the immune system turns against the body . . . Scleroderma has no known cure."
_ What's On Your Bucket List? By Sondra Forsyth articleThe term "bucket list" was around before 2007, but it was popularized that year by the Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman film about two terminally ill guys who travel around the world with a list of to-dos before they "kick the bucket." They find, in their travels, that some of the more trivial items take on deeper significance. An especially touching scene happens when Nicholson as Edward reconciles with his estranged daughter and meets his little granddaughter for the first time.
Aging Well10 Little Changes That Take Off Five Years By Sondra Forsyth articleIf the Fountain-of-Youth Fairy came into your life and offered to wave her magic wand so you would look at least five years younger almost instantly, we're betting you wouldn't turn her down. Well, here we are with the next best solution. Read on for 10 surefire strategies to make yourself appear more youthful than you do right now. Stand up Straight
_ FriendshipDo You Still Need a BFF? By Sondra Forsyth article Celebrity best friends Barbra Streisand and Donna Karan have famously continued their close connection with one another for over 20 years. Babs, who will turn 70 in April of 2012, recently took the stage at the Dream Foundation's annual gala to present the evening's award to the 64-year-old creator of DKNY clothing labels for her tireless work in helping grant wishes for the terminally ill.
_ Living SingleAre You Lonely? By Sondra Forsyth article If you're a Boomer who's living alone, you're part of a growing phenomenon. Close to 30% of the older population is in what the Census Bureau calls "single person households," and the number skyrockets to almost 50% for women over the age of 75. Yet while mid-lifers who are yearning for some "me time" may think that flying solo sounds great, the truth is that coming home to an empty house or apartment night after night can bring on depression as well as a host of related physical ailments.
Once a Mother, Always a Mother By Sondra Forsyth blog Years ago when my firstborn was 14, I wrote an essay for "Ladies' Home Journal" about my maternal angst when he left for a two-week Outward Bound wilderness adventure. I called the piece "Letting Go." What I didn't know then was that mothers never really let go. We are attached for life to our offspring by a phenomenon I have come to think of as the emotional umbilical cord. Unlike the physical cord that is severed after we give birth, the invisible one is never cut. As the years go by, we may feel the tug less often.
The Great Ballets 101 -- Part I By Sondra Forsyth blogWhen I was a young ballet student, I read "The Complete Book of Ballets," by Cyril Beaumont, many times over.
_ Have You Become Your Mother? By Sondra Forsyth article When my mother had been widowed about three years, we took her on a tour of a community for active seniors near where we lived in New York. She was visiting from her home in Michigan and our plan was to get her to move. From our point of view, she was rattling around all alone in a three-bedroom house and she rarely got a chance to see the grandchildren. We thought she'd jump at the opportunity to sell her property and not only settle into a place where she could socialize with people her own age but also be a short drive from her family.
Style5 Ways to Perk Up a January Wardrobe By Sondra Forsyth article Sherrie Mathieson, an award-winning costume designer for United Artists, is the author of "Forever Cool: How to Achieve Ageless, Youthful, and Modern Personal Style" and "Steal This Style: Moms and Daughters Swap Wardrobe Secrets." We asked her for tips to give a winter-weary wardrobe some pizzazz. Here's what she told us:
ExerciseHow to Start an Exercise Routine By Sondra Forsyth article Does the word "exercise" make you think of boring routines that feel like an obligation you'd just as soon avoid? Follow our step by step checklist to help yourself get moving and stay on track. Let's make 2012 your year to be a fitness maven. Ready, set, glow! Get Your Docs OK Before You Begin
An Epiphany That Changed My Life By Sondra Forsyth blog I rang in 1967 in Ierapetra, a village that hugs the shore of the Mediterranean on the island of Crete. I had landed a job as an English teacher after earning a TOEFL certificate in London and my students had told me that although the New Year's Eve festivities were exciting, the real action would happen on January 6th, the Feast of Epiphany. In the Greek Orthodox religion, that day celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the Magi. A procession led by the Bishop winds through the town and ends at the seashore for the Blessing of the Waters.
Of Mincemeat Pies and Memories By Sondra Forsyth blog I knew I had reached a milestone in my life this year when I was able to walk past jars of mincemeat in the supermarket during the weeks before Thanksgiving without having tears well up in my eyes. Some of my fondest memories of the years when my children were growing up are of the hours we spent together in the kitchen baking treats for birthdays and holidays. Chief among those bake fests was the annual creation of the lattice crust mincemeat pie for Thanksgiving.