| Tweet |  Delicious |
Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.
Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.
Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.
Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.
39 Comments:
I turned 51 last week (please don't send black balloons). It's time to face, cold, hard facts. I'm caught in that limbo state, somewhere between middle-age and, gulp, senior citizens. Middle age to me is, well, middle age. If I live to be 102, I am now at middle age. To be honest, 102 isn't looking all that good. Picture eyelids hanging down to my knees.
Still, if you label me middle age, I'm okay with that. Call me a senior citizen and I might have to hurt you. ;-)
We qualify for AARP at 50. (Retired Persons at 50? How many of those do you know?) We qualify for some senior discounts on food at 55. (IHOPS anyone?) Seems society has us skip middle age and go directly to old codgers. {{grin}}
I guess I accepted the term middle-aged around 50. I certainly never thought of myself as middle-aged in my forties, despite becoming a grandmother twice when I was 43. I don't plan to be "old" until I reach my mother's age (92).
Robin
Ha, see girls! Robin agrees with me. I am vindicated! Vindicated I tell you!
Oh goodness. I just turned thirty-five a couple of months ago. I hope middle-aged doesn't mean forty. Hmmm, this actually does bring up images of some of my friends. Ok, there are some who need to accept that at least a decade has gone by and they need to stop wearing that half shirt and give in to wearing grown up clothing, even if they still look cute in it. Ha ha. Seriously, middle age should not ever be acknowledged, unless you are celebrating yet another Stage God has created for you.
You're so literal, D! Middle age doesn't mean the middle half of life expectancy to most people! LOL Sheesh. You'll notice Tina also agreed with me and she's only 35 so it's not a case of her being one of us middle agers. LOL
It was when someone was in their fifties, at least AFTER they hit 55 when they qualified for AARP.
__________
Well, I'm 35 and just got my unsolicited and unrequested application for AARP in the mail. How's that?
VALERIE!! I would KILL them! And NEVER join. LOL
LOLOLOL....sheesh, I don't visit blogs in a while and y'all start this HOT topic. Hmm, kinda correlates with my hot flashes, which Colleen and Camy can attest to since I think I froze them out of the hotel room at RWA. LOL But, I digress....middle age? Who cares what "age" it is? Really. It doesn't matter. It's just a number. Now, there ARE some things I can't do physically that I once was able to. I don't think it's age per se, but more that my body has finked out on me in certain areas. I'm shaped differently than I was in my 20s, so I can't do what I once did. But hey, again...it's JUST a number. I always have to look up my year of birth to figure out how old I am. Seriously. Last year, I was telling people I was 38 and my hubby finally asked me why I was messing with people. I was flabbergasted when he told me I was 37. I didn't believe him! Had to look on my drivers license. What a revelation--he was right. So, I turn 38 next weekend, when I'm hanging with Colleen and Diann. I think I'm gonna be in good company with those youngsters. Hope they don't wear me out! LOL
I love the interactive comments on this blog!
I'm with Diann: "If you label me middle age, I'm okay with that. Call me a senior citizen and I might have to hurt you. ;-)"
I'm glad I was an oops baby...which made my mother older than most...which made my grandmother older than most...which meant I hung out with older people...which meant I've always loved older people...which also meant I never looked at them as old...because they always acted so young...which I intend to always do.
Kristy, who turned 55 (last week yikes! I can hardly bear to say it).
BTW, I intend to be around a long time. My great aunt Eva Connors passed away at 108 a few years ago. She advocated eating an apple a day, and when she died, she could still do her unusual exercise: while standing, she could kick her bottom with the sole of her foot. She was a feisty soul. For her 100th birthday, President Clinton sent her a birthday letter. She hung it on the wall...over the commode!!
For a unique experience, visit ourgrandmother.com. You'll see her riding a camel at age 99.
LOL I think as a 27 year old... I shall stay out of this conversation. :o)
Oh my goodness, this is cracking me up!!!
You are a wise woman, Heather! LOL
And Kristy if your grandmother died at 108, you ARE middle-aged, girlfriend!!! Whooohoooo!!!
Whether we're middle-agers or seniors, we're having a BLAST!!!!
But if I was to give my opinion... (Yeah, Diann, guess I'm not so wise...)
Middle age to me is definitely not in the forties. Later fifties maybe...
To me middle age doesn't equate with being old though. You're not old til you're dead! :o)
That's exactly the way I thought when I was in my twenties too, Heather! I've got an aunt I adore and I never thought of her as middle aged. My aunt Edith is really only maybe hitting middle age now that she's retired. LOL
LOL.....middle age is a mindset, not a number!
Colleen, When my husband first saw your picture he thought you were only about forty, so there. :)
Oooo, I like that, Robin. Course, if that's the case, I'm still a teenager. ;-)
Thank you, Diann....even though Colleen thought I should agree with her! LOLOLOLOL
I'm SO looking forward to hanging out with you *young* gals next weekend! :)
Helloooooooo, I am 58 and worked HARD to get here! Y'all can call me middle aged, OLD ONE, or whatever. This roly poly gal's inner self is ageless. But when they offer me discounts b/c of gray hair, I take 'em and smile (with my own teeth).
LOL...I wondered when Ms. Billerbeck would pop in! LOL Well, one of my grandmothers lived to be 97.....the other is still kicking at 85, so I guess that would make middle age in my family around 50ish. LOL Sorry, C.... :)
I totally agree that 50 is middle age, Robin! My peeps say it's over at 50 and then we're OLD. They are WRONG! LOL
LOL.....I think of OLD and picture tombstones. I don't see ANY of you in that way. So, here's to "middle-agers" everywhere....salut!
Okay, I'm here to settle this once and for all! I am NOT old. I'll admit to middle aged, but that was only last year. And ladies, I will turn 60 in January. But inside, I'm still 39 ... and holding.
So Diann and Colleen, you've just begun the middle years. Haven't the rest of y'all heard that 50 is the new 30? I'm claimin' that!!!
Middle age? 50 at the very least. Senior citizen? Eh....65?
I'm 18, but I'm surrounded by extremely spry elderly people :)
Ok - I'm turning 30 next week and have yet to have my first child. So, in my eyes, I'm just barely getting started here, which must put middle age somewhere around 60. My husband is still in college (he's 32) and we're moving to a DORMITORY of all things ... party time, right? I have middle schoolers calling me nightly to say "hey" and "Hang" over the phone ... middle aged people have no attraction to middle schoolers right? THerefore, I can't be remotely nearing middle age ...
I'm babbling now ... it's just ... nearing middle aged people don't ride their Mountain Bikes over 3' rock ledges do they ("ride" being a relative term - "catapult while screaming" being more accurate)?
Can you tell I'm totally at ease with turning 30? The way I figure it, the more years you add on, the further out middle age goes!
In my novel, I have characters representing several generations. I must say that my favorite character is a woman who is somewhere close to sixty. I guess she is middle age, but she doesn't act like it. In fact, she acts exactly how she wants to.
By the way, this is Tina Forkner. I wasn't trying to post anonymously, I just haven't figured out the Blogger thing yet. LOL.
Do young and a little past that, you have all pretty much vindicated me. LOL No one thinks 50s is PAST middle aged as my esteemed peeps seem to think. Thank you, thank you.
Okay, I've enjoyed this blog and have laughed and chuckled. Here's my two cents (sense) worth! :-)
I'm in my mid 20's (26) and you guys exhaust ME with the amount you seem to do. I'm just a little bit in awe! You travel to multiple conferences, cross the country on book tours, blog daily, not to mention all the family, friends and church commitments. You stay constant and updated in eachother's lives, take fun, exotic vacations (didn't one of you just get back from Europe?) and find the time to answer tons and tons of fan mail as well!! Oh, and let's not forget that other little thing - that in there somewhere you manage to squeeze off a brilliant story for readers like me! WOW!! So I say stop thinking "middle age" and look at it as "20's take two" or "A 20's Do-Over with more wisdom". Kick up your heels and HAVE FUN. Embrace it! Because middle age or not, You guys ROCK! Besides, a funky pair of shoes will do wonders for you!
Oops, forgot to leave my signature at the end of that last post. I hit that "Login and publish" button a little too soon. :-) I think I need another coffee! :-)
Blessings,
Shauna
Wow, Shauna, with comments like that, we'll hogtie you so you never leave us! LOL
And ooh Rachelle, do you feel dead? I just killed someone in my new book names Rachelle. Now you've made me feel guilty! I might have to change the poor girl's name! LOL
Wow, Shauna, your comment made me want to throw a party! Break out the "I Am Woman Hear Me Roar" and chocolate truffles! :-)
Thanks for the encouragement. I have no idea if I'm middle-aged or just plain old, but the truth is I'm having a ball at whatever stage this is! :-)
I'll be 42 on Sept 16 and did not consider myself middle aged until yesterday when I found that I will require my first root canal and crown on Monday!!! BooHooo..
Honestly, I don't feel what I always thought was middle aged. I vote for 60 as the start of MA.
Does it really matter? I was working with a woman in her late 80s one day, and she called me a young lady. When I told her I was 51, she said, "Oh, you gals in your 50s now-a-days are so beautiful."
FYI - I work in a photography studio and was helping this couple pick out an image for their 60th anniversary. They couldn't decide on one image. Further questioning revealed they were each picking the image where they thought the other looked most beautiful or most handsome. Ahhh. :)
Colleen, you guys will never get rid of me. LOL! I feel bonded to you guys through chocolate and caffeine....ha,ha....not to mention all the laughter and fun this blog gives me. :-) And Diann, "ROOOOAAAR!" Now where's those chocolate truffles? :-)
I raise my (coffee) cup to you!
Shauna
Okay girls, I know what you've all been waiting for is a Gloria Steinem quote, via Nora Ephron. So here it is, from "I Feel Bad About My Neck."
*****
Many years ago, when Gloria Steinem turned forty, someone complimented her on how remarkably young she looked, and she replied, "This is what forty looks like." It was a great line and I wish I'd said it. "This is what forty looks like" led, inevitably, to its most significant corollary, "Forty is the new thirty," which led to many other corollaries: "Fifty is the new forty." "Sixty is the new fifty," and even, "Restaurants are the new theater," "Focaccia is the new quiche," et cetera.
*****
Now, if you're ready to stop arguing about being (or not being) middle aged, and start laughing about it instead, go get this book!
This is a hap-hap-happening place! Just found y'all and...slam on the brakes...I'm middle age??? What? I frankly should just move on but I was laughing at all of your comments. Not laughing at you, with you. And no, I'm sorry but 40 is not middle age. My mother might have been middle age at 40 but I'm NOT! :) Enjoyed the laughs...I'll be back...and I've definitely put this book on my Amazon to buy list asap. Sounds great!
There are countries in the world whose life expectancy is around 37 years old...half of what ours is. We should probably be grateful that we can debate whether 40, 50, or 60 is middle-age when many are on their death beds well before that. Not to bring down the room but maybe we have it all wrong and we should celebrate each year we get older. :)
I had lunch yesterday at an anonymous restaurant. It's one of those restaurants where you order your food, pay for it, and it is served to you. The senior discount begins at age 60 at this restaurant.
My friends ordered ahead of me. We all ordered the salad bar--so I knew the cost before I paid. But my meal was cheaper than my friends'. When I questioned the cashier, he said, "Oh, you get the senior discount." Much as I argued with him, I couldn't convince him that I'm *not* 60 (or older).
Of course, my younger friends roared with laughter.
Judy, who aged five years in one day
As a 38-year-old who is watching her own parents have the time of their lives (at 62 and 64) I have to say that today's "older" generation are much more active and involved than, say, my grandparents ever were at that age.
I think, in general, that while we may technically be labeled "middle-age" at 45-50, the reality is that life is at it's best beginning somewhere right about those ages.
Post a Comment
<< Home