The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all continuing holidays. It was observed 4000 years ago by the ancient Babylonians and has continued, with only minor interruptions, into modern times. Anything with a history that long and enduring clearly has deep significance for the human psyche. Perhaps it\’s simply a celebration of being alive, having made it through another circle of the sun. But for many of us there is also the recognition of death and rebirth, a letting go of what has been and surrendering to what is yet to be. Philosophers make the distinction between “being”–that... Read More

Marian Marbury loves to travel and loves the outdoors. Five years ago she combined these two interests and began her own business, Adventures in Good Company, offering other women the opportunity to have adventure travel experiences of their own. Joan Ruuska, 60, a database maintainer at the Federal Reserve Board, recently took Marbury\’s “Winter Medley” trip to Minnesota and is now looking forward to more adventure trips in the future. “It was the most exhilarating vacation I have ever had,” says Ruuska, who lives in Bowie. “I\’m originally from New England and have always enjoyed... Read More

…by Prill BoyleHave you ever sabotaged a dream? Most of us at some point have dismissed an inspired idea without taking a single step towards its fulfillment. We might glance back from time to time, but we convince ourselves that our dream is neither realistic nor achievable. Don\’t be so sure. Let me give you an example. Like many young mothers in the mid-1970\’s, Carol made her own baby food from natural ingredients. She puréed batches of fresh fruits and vegetables and froze them in ice cube trays to thaw at some later point. One day a light bulb went off in her head. She... Read More

…by Julie Clark Robinson “The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.”  -Sebastian R. N. Chamfort I\’m not even finished wrapping presents and I find myself thinking about New Year\’s Eve. Not necessarily what I\’ll do – being married with two children seems to solve that problem for a person – but more annoyingly, what will I resolve to change in 2006? I could put a couple years\’ worth of photos and home videos in order. I could drag my kids around to every soccer, piano, dance and martial arts class I can find. But, let\’s face... Read More

…by Suzanne Falter-Barnes A few years back, I had the great fortune to spend the day at the Vermont recording studio of a jazz musician named Chuck Eller. Chuck recorded my Discover Your Soul Purpose meditation CD, and offered to provide some background piano music as well. From the beginning, I knew the meditations needed some kind of scoring, but exactly what and how eluded me. There are no entries in the phone book for “Composer – Mystical, Healing, Background Stuff”. Furthermore, I had no idea how I was going to \’direct\’ such a musician. (“More... Read More

We were sitting around my girlfriend\’s kitchen table and of course, as “girl talk” goes, one thing lead to another. Being writers, we relate everything to “months” and what\’s going on in the “month.” We knew the next event in a writer\’s world was Valentine\’s Day. Inspired by this, and secretly looking for fodder, I said, “If you could do anything you wanted to do on Valentine\’s Day, just for this one day, what would it be?” I was expecting to hear them say things like “Oh I\’d sweep me and my hubby off to Barbados for a weekend filled... Read More

In “De-Mystifying Vicky-D\’s” in the October NABBW newsletter, you learned how the Vicky-D\’s\’ generational experiences, attitudes and values created their expectations today. However, generational values and attitudes are only part of the equation. As you might imagine, for Vicky-D\’s facing major life issues such as old age, declining health, death of a spouse and/or friends, fear of being destitute and homeless, fear of losing independence and control, or the fear of dependency – or not having anyone to depend on, this an extremely emotional time. Emotions... Read More

In this SERIES of monthly COLUMNS Dr. Stephen will help you: • Find out more about your depressed mood • Name that tune: A description of depressive and mood disorders • Change your depressed mood through action • Decide if you need medication COLUMN TWO: NAME THAT TUNE: A DESCRIPTION OF DEPRESSIVE AND MOOD DISORDERS Depression has been called by many names over the span of human existence. “D” words win with the most entries…which seems only fair—Despondency Despair Disconsolate Dispirited Doleful Downbeat Downcast Downhearted Dejected Down... Read More

kay, that title may not be original, but my idea is. Hold on to your stocking stuffers\’ people cause I have a whopper of an idea for Christmas this year. I\’ve been giving this gift buying-running-to-the-mall-fighting-the-crowds-going-into-debt-and-cooking-for-the-multitudes thing, a lot of thought. What say this year we reverse the roles? Hmm? I mean, who says that kids should get all the neat toys and gifts under the tree, anyway? And what about the best candy always going in THEIR stockings? Exactly WHO made up these rules? I know I didn\’t. You? More than likely, it was someone... Read More

Because eldercare is often unexpected, intermittent (at least initially), and always unpredictable, few of us realize the time and toll it\’s taking on us personally in terms of money, relationships, and peace of mind – to mention nothing of our sanity! It\’s also difficult to accurately predict the true length of our commitment. In fact, according to the 1999 MetLife Mature Market Institute Study, a majority of those anticipating 1 to 2 years of caregiving actually spent 4 or more years providing care. Add to that all the complicated bureaucratic and legal restrictions, such as... Read More