Growing Bolder Community

BoomerOpinions survey results released this month revealed some fascinating findings about retirement prospects for my generation. Sixty percent of the nearly 400 Baby Boomers interviewed thought it was realistic they could retire within the next ten years. A quarter of those surveyed, however, expressed doubts about their immanent retirement prospects. In a recent New York Times article...

I read an interesting article in the New York Times Sunday Styles section this week. The article was entitled, “She’s Playing Games with your Lives”, and featured Jane McGonigal, a Ph.D. whose goal it is to make the world better through gaming. SuperBetter is her online game that seeks to help you lose weight, save energy, cope with chemo treatments, or cut back on your...

Two weeks ago today I started on Weight Watchers. I toyed with the online version of Weight Watchers a few years ago. This time around I’m going to the meeting version of WW, the one with accountability built in- the weighing in front of other people kind of accountability. I’ve spent the past two weeks tracking every morsel I put in my mouth, and every step I take (ok so perhaps going...

I recently attended a family reunion in South Georgia, my mother’s family homestead. (Homestead is a bit of an overstatement.) My mother’s paternal grandmother extracted her from this tiny town when she was eight, taking her to live in Orlando. I, nor others in my family, ever learned why she left, a mystery which will remain unsolved since my Mom died almost 30 years ago. My...

The title of my blog is Be Brave. Lose the Beige. While Be Brave. Lose the Beige is not just about color, (it’s really focused upon women’s empowerment) I am absolutely crazy about color. I believe color can even serve as a metaphor in our quest for self discovery. I was recently certified as a True Colors facilitator. True Colors is a personality assessment modeled after the Myers...

Be Brave. Lose the Beige is not only the name of this blog, it's also the name of a movement we are hoping to create among women’s groups. My friend and colleague in this effort, Jackie, and I facilitated a workshop at the annual UCC (United Church of Christ) women’s conference a few weekends ago. We conducted an intergenerational session entitled, “The Power of the Purse,...

I was recently certified as a True Colors facilitator. True Colors is a color version of the Myers Briggs indicator. The founder of True Colors, Don Lowry liked using color as a metaphor to translate complicated personality theory into practical application. It was kind of a no brainer marrying True Colors with Be Brave. Lose the Beige, since there is a fun color centric focus to the...

Have you ever given any thought to what the days of the week feel like? The seasons of the year have very distinct flavors. The crisp cool days of fall as the quality of the light changes and the days grow shorter. The smell of fireplace smoke permeating the air; it’s dark by 5:30 as we shrug into our flannel PJs in the winter. The smell of rain and fresh flowers as the daylight begins...

As I’ve confessed before, I’m a bit of a numbers junkie so I was fascinated when I read an article in the Sunday New York Times by Stephanie Coontz entitled, “The M.R.S. and the P.h.D.: The Myth of the Spurned and Single Educated Woman”. The article was chalk full of statistics about the evolution of the educated woman, and her prospects for marriage. Coontz noted that prior to...

Have you ever tip-toed up to a box of chocolates feeling guilty anticipation at the prospect of beholding orderly rows of delicious delicacies? Upon raising the lid, you discover crumpled wrappers containing half eaten caramels, mauled milk chocolates, and partially nibbled nougats – sampled and rejected – leaving these bitten beauties unfit for another’s consumption. How...