FEATURED SHORT STORY: Summer of '95 by Michael Ewing

SUMMER OF ‘95

by 

Michael Ewing

The blaring alarm shattered my sleep. I groaned and cracked my greasy eyes open wondering when five-thirty in the morning had gotten so damned bright. I pulled the pillow over my aching head and tried to figure out a way of not going into work. The night before I had gone out drinking at Shy’s with Scott and Justine for their anniversary and had overindulged. Yesterday, my boss, Gregg, had asked me for five more names for layoffs and it was easy to drink more than I should have. God, I hated my job.

Yearning to be Free at 50

Dance like no one’s watching, Brene Brown advises, sing! Who cares what others think?

Most of us want to take off our “game face” and let our true selves emerge. Never is this more true than in middle age when we are rediscovering who we are, what we love, our passions, our interests, our beliefs, our long held, subterranean goals.

This yearning to be free grow stronger after the death of a beloved parent, one we wanted to impress.  Or the departure of our children, to lead their own lives.

They are free. Why shouldn't we be free too? Why shouldn't we lead the life we want? Be who we want? Act how we want?

And yet something holds us back.

Five tips for better sleep for older people

The NYTs reports a link between anxiety drugs and memory problems, possibly even Alzheimers.

This is an excellent reminder that one of the best things older people can do to safeguard their health is to find non-drug solutions for sleeping problems.

Here are five tips for improving sleep.

1) reduce napping during the day

2) drink less alcohol (if you like two drinks in the evening, try one instead...)

3) get some exercise, if possible in the fresh air, but even cleaning house or going for a little walk is helpful, an age-appropriate Zumba or Yoga class could be a lot of fun - anything to move those bones!

4) do something that stimulates the mind - a conversation, a good book (a bad book!), a lecture, a movie, art, build or fix something, help someone...

5) if you are being woken up in the night and having trouble getting back to sleep, try to identify and eliminate the cause - earplugs if it's noise, less liquid if it's going to the bathroom, room temperatures, mattress etc....

Share your tips for good sleep!

Creative arts provide hope and help for people with Alzheimer's

Alzheimer’s. It’s the only disease in the top ten causes of fatalities without a prevention, treatment or cure.
In honor of November National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, we had a chat with Berna Huebner, an Alzheimer’s advocate who has an uplifting and inspiring story about her mother who had Alzheimer’s.
Berna faced her mother’s disease with courage and creativity. Over a decade after her mother’s death, Berna is still giving back to others affected by Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dancing after Fifty by Amy Kadori

The urge to dance can strike at any time and for a variety of reasons. For me it happened in my mid fifties after breaking my hip

Ode to a Nap by Monique Y. Wells

Monique Y. Wells

Ode to a Nap

I never used to take naps.

Naps were for lazy people.

Naps were for wimps who weren’t up to the challenges of the day.

Naps were for people who were less than physically fit.

Naps weren’t for me.

Not for years.

Then, something happened.

CAMPUS RAPE Open letter to University Presidents, Administrators, Boards of Trustees and Professors

Dear Sirs,

The way Hobart and William Smith Colleges officials dealt with the rape of a freshman girl by not just one but several male students is sickening for many reasons.  

One which concerns each and every one of you university professionals is the lack of a moral compass evidenced by those in a position of authority.

When did educators start believing it was ok for anyone to have sex with an extremely drunk young person?

Featured submission: What I Learned in Becoming a Widow

Mature Women's Guide is very pleased to feature this thoughtful essay by Joan Stommen "What I Learned in Becoming a Widow". Rooted in painful experience, it will, we hope, be helpful for other women confronted with loss who are searching for ways, despite their grief, to move forward. "Nothing prepares you for having your life interrupted and forever changed," Joan says "but over the last six months I've learned to be a little braver and move a bit more forward as I face life on my own."

"What I Learned in Becoming a Widow". by Joan Stommen

Losing my husband unexpectedly last summer was like a merry-go-round that suddenly stops! Our marriage ended when he didn't wake up from his afternoon nap. I've been on an emotional roller coaster; wandering through financial mazes and unknown pathways into this world of widowhood.' You cannot start a new chapter unless you stop re-reading the old one' the saying goes. And yet I cannot put the story of our Great Adventure down. Over and over I revisit the memories and what might have been. Nothing prepares you for having your life interrupted and forever changed, but over the last six months I've learned to be a little braver and move a bit more forward as I face life on my own.

Featured submission humor: To be old or not to be old, that is the question

Jane M Handel

We are delighted to feature this humorous take off on Hamlet's famous To Be or Not To Be speech, by writer Jane M. Handel.

SOLILOQUY

by Jane M. Handel (with apologies to W Shakespeare)

To be … old or not to be … old, that is the question

Whether tis nobler to stick around longer even if you’ve lost the plot

To carry on battling with your arm in a sling or the wheelchair of outrageous agedness

Or to throw in the towel, give-up and bugger off.

To die, to sleep. To be no more

And by this sleep end the fear of heart attack and the thousand bumps and shocks that wrinkled flesh is prone to.  It is a very tempting quick fix

To die, to sleep, To sleep, perchance to dream – oh shit – there’s the rub

Featured Submissions: This Is My Quest, To Follow That Star By Roz Warren

The Mature Women's Guide to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is delighted to feature selected submissions. This week, an essay from author Roz Warren.

Rosalind Warren and Jonathan Coulton

This Is My Quest, To Follow That Star

By: Roz Warren 

Some people love adventure travel. Others seek luxury and comfort. There are globetrotters who head off to a new destination each time, and folks who always return to one much-loved place.  

My nephew Isaac travels to wherever his favorite soccer team is playing, which has brought him to the unlikely vacation venues of Manchester, Stuttgart and Malmo (Sweden.) 

My travel planning is all about Jonathan Coulton.

JoCo is a singer songwriter much loved by a devoted fan base of mostly twenty-something computer nerds. Although you’ve probably never heard of him, on the internet he’s a superstar. 

Call for submissions: suggested topics for Mature Women's Guide essays

Submissions are now open for the anthology Mature Women's Guide to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

To help writers prepare their submissions, here are some additional guidelines concerning topics.

Topics:
We are looking for fiercely honest texts, written with verve and style, that are insightful, funny, moving or simply helpful. All essays and short stories will be considered. In response to requests for examples of good topics, here are a few that we would be delighted to receive:

• The Graduate as seen by Mrs Robinson
• Once the kids are out of the house
• Old trophy wives
• The "Joys" of the 50 year Marriage
• Life after grief
• A daughter's advice to the Empty Nester
• Cheerleading at 65
• Weighing divorce
• Tips for the older dater
• What to expect when you become a grandmother
• Grey grifters
• Older entrepreneurs
• Strategies for happy living
• The truth about old men
• On spending the children's inheritance
• Losing my mind...
• Tips for seducing a 54 year old bachelor (written by same)
• On freedom
• Learning to Dance after fifty
• Slouching towards Sun City...
• Best books for the middle ages
• Dear Mature Women (letters and advice)...

Judges

Texts will be selected by the Editor of Paris Writers News. 

The Mature Women's Guide to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness will be published as an ebook by Summertime Publications Inc in 2015. A complete biography of each contributor will be included. 

Rights

Authors must own the rights to the texts they submit. Authors agree to grant The Mature Women's Guide permission to include the submission in the anthology. Authors will retain the rights to their texts and can republish elsewhere.

Entry fees and prizes

There is no entry fee. The prize is selection for publication.

How to submit
Please send your submission IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL (no attachments) to 
womensguidetohappiness@gmail.com

You can follow us on twitter at : 

@MatureWomen2015

DEADLINE FOR FIRST BATCH OF SUBMISSIONS: APRIL 30, 2014 (CLOSED)

DEADLINE FOR SECOND BATCH OF SUBMISSIONS: OCTOBER 31, 2014 (NOW OPEN)

WRITERS BLOGGERS : CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR A UNIQUE ANTHOLOGY

For the anthology Mature Women's Guide to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, we are calling for submissions from authors and artists from around the world.

Contribute to a unique anthology about the needs, desires, challenges and strategies of older women. Humor. Fiction. Non-fiction. Short story. Serious essays. Funny observations. Scandalous Advice. Letters. Tips. Confessions. How-to. How NOT to. No topics off limits.
Submissions from men and offspring welcome. All texts will be considered. No entry fee.
http://womensguidetohappiness.blogspot.com/
You have lived. You have learned. Share your wisdom and advice.
Fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry - all forms considered.

There are no rules, no fees, no prize - other than inclusion in the anthology.
DEADLINE FOR FIRST BATCH OF SUBMISSIONS: APRIL 30, 2014 (CLOSED)

DEADLINE FOR SECOND BATCH OF SUBMISSIONS: OCTOBER 31, 2016 (NOW OPEN)

Submissions guidelines:
Please put your submission in the body of the email with your name (or pseudonym) and contact information.

Send to womensguidetohappiness   AT      gmail.com