Here is an episode in which we talk about nothing and everything, ramble about identity, home, our hair and hair products, trading spaces with our partners, feeling like a ghoul, aging and age-related adjustments, the rules of parties, dealing with an aging body, The Leftovers, The Offer, Barry, Hacks, and why are we all still so fascinated with Anna Wintour? Please do tune in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Keep watching Hacks — I thought episodes 3 and 4 were great.
Thank you, Dawn M! I still get colonoscopies and mammograms, plus an annual pelvic ultrasound, since my mother died from ovarian cancer. I’m not sure whether these and another tests aren’t required because the medical establishment doesn’t give a damn. It could be because some cancers become so slow growing in older patients that that statistics suggest they pose a minimal threat to health and longevity. In any case, if you want a screening test, ask for it and if your request is refused, keep asking till you find a doc who will order it. We all need to be proactive about our own healthcare. ❤️
The Anna Wintour bio just out was SO DISAPPOINTING and made me sad all over again that you (Kim) aren’t writing your memoir after all, but I totally get why. Anyway, I just cannot believe how boring that Wintour book was!
Karin, let me know what you didn’t like about it. I’ve read it a few times and each time I learn something new. What fascinated me is that Anna is not a “heavy lifter” she delegates that out. Her aura is about building powerful alliances with powerful people. I don’t think she’s the best writer and her editor letters are written by someone else (funny because her dad was editor and she was very close to him). Fashion without Anna is like England without the Queen; there would be an identity crisis
I didn’t live in Texas until grad school, but I like y’all (pun intended 😉). The English language doesn’t really have a collective you and I think y’all fits the bill.
I’m a born & raised Texan – I moved to LA, but never gave up “Y’all.” And it’s especially handy these days of gender fluidity.
As y’all pointed out we all need to be aware that our bodies––not just in size and shape––change as we age. My entire life I have had super low cholesterol and low blood pressure etc. suddenly, at age 70, that has change. While neither is high enough to warrant medication, I do have to be more aware. And here’s another bit of info no one tells you regarding the aging process for women…along about 70/75 you no longer are “required” to have mammograms or pap smears or even colonoscopies because you are deemed just too effing old to be worth the bother. (my guess this has to do with insurance companies not thinking your life span is going to be long enough for them to shell out to pay for tests or treatments if needed)
CW, I always like your comments. You (and Mimi A) seem like the coolest 70ish women on the planet and you’re providing GOACAs with examples of keeping it fresh while acknowledging the struggles. So, thank you. Your voice is much needed. I was the one responsible for accompanying my mother-in-law to her doctors’ appointments during the final years of her life (she was in her 80s and hard of hearing, so I was literally in the room with her during examinations), and I was shocked at the “why bother” attitude of her healthcare providers in many cases. She did finally find a surgeon who fixed her pulmonary problems, which allowed her to live comfortably until the very end. But, I will never forget the bad attitudes she encountered until she did find the right doctor. Elderly people who do not have a family member (or younger close friend) to advocate for them get incredibly shitty service. If ever there were an area of medicine that could use compassion, gerontology is it. My mother-in-law had the gold standard of health insurance and still got treated rather shabbily.
Thank you, DawnM, very sweet of you. And major pats on your back for attending your mother-in-law for her dr. appointments––care of our elders is one of those things we don’t think about in our twenties or even thirties. It’s quite eye opening to see how the elderly are treated (or, I suppose I should say, NOT treated!). I imagine it takes a certain kind of person to become a geriatrician (I had to look that word up) and it certainly doesn’t have the glamour of say a neurosurgeon. Still, I hope because there are so many of us Boomers the field of aging will become a more career worthy option for those newer doctors coming up.