Have you ever had an obscure fact stick with you for a long time? Here is one that has followed me… In my late twenties I read Golda Meir’s autobiography, My Life. Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel from 1969-1974, was a school teacher until the age of 43 (or thereabouts). There it is. Isn’t that incredible? At the time she was only the 3rd woman on the planet to serve as a Prime Minister. Her mid-life transition has always stuck with me. Now, I am even more fascinated by it after reading Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, by William Bridges. Continue reading…
Camouflage, transition & summer plans
I hope you all enjoyed a breezy Memorial Day weekend. We caught our neighboring town’s Memorial Day celebration. The gentleman who spoke was from the Navy; pressed whites, well spoken, a selectman. On Memorial Day he challenged us not to mourn but to live. He recounted that our fallen heroes had sacrificed it all to give us that chance. Live.
So, in a quick quiet moment on Memorial Day I Continue reading…
Queen for the Day: a triggering event?
Last weekend a dear friend shared with me a quirky reference to “Queen for the Day.” It got me thinking about my transition. For those unfamiliar with the reference, “Queen for the Day” was a game show in the late 50s and early 60s. Contestants, all women, would compete for the “highest applause meter” rating by sharing the details of financial and emotional hard times. The winner would get a “wish list” item like a swanky new Maytag washer. No Oprah with a ready arm to comfort the participant – just a beautiful new Maytag circa 1950’s. At first, I found this Queenie reference sad but… Continue reading…
Isolation?
My greatest fear in entering a transition was isolation. Now, a few months into this, let me say that I had it all wrong.
I left a full-time role in Spring 2010. My boss often joked in public, “you can work any 60 hours you’d like.” He believed his approach was both enlightened and funny.
In the past year I’ve embarked on a transition to redefine my work-self. I put myself in Bucket #5 in my post “Women’s Transitions: a process…” I have more non-negotiables this time. My work-self has to be integrated into my parenting self. I have children in first grade and kindergarten. It also has to adhere to my idealistic self: I believe everyone can change the world. I thrive on ideas and people…
So here is my 180 on isolation…. Continue reading…
VIEW FROM THE DELI COUNTER: WOMEN & PERFECTION
This post will clearly be grouped in the quirky “observations” from my transition category. But first, heartfelt thanks to all of you for the wonderful outpouring of comments and ideas around this launch. The volume of emails that I’ve received has been enormous. You’ve given me incredible ideas on how to take Novofemina forward. More on that in the weeks ahead. For now, I thought I’d share a chuckle…and an observation. Continue reading…
What does NovoFemina Mean?
Novofemina.com is a blog about professional and personal transition issues in women’s lives. Novofemina is derived from Latin words meaning “women’s renewal.” It’s constructed from two latin words; novo and femina. Novo’s latin definition is “to make new; to renew; to change; to re-invent.” Femina is the latin word for “woman.” Continue reading…