Cindy on April 23rd, 2009
“It’s the first impression, and it will either open the door or close it. It’s that important, so don’t mess it up.” — Nicholas Sparks (on query letters)
While many of us “meet” new people through blogs and online social networks, our person-to-person social skills remain a key factor in our careers and personal lives. Psychologists have discovered, in fact, that first impressions are far more powerful than we realize.
âFor centuries, people stayed in the communities in which they were born,â note Ann Demarais, Ph.D., and Valerie White, Ph.D., authors of First Impressions: What You Don’t Know About How Others See You ($12; Bantam). âNow, however, we live in an age in which people move to new houses and cities, change jobs, make new friends, and form new relationships at a rapid rate.â Whether you’re an unemployed mid-lifer or a new graduate preparing for job interviews, you don’t want to miss this book. It’s the topic of my Midpoint column today in The Oakland Press. –CL
Cindy on April 16th, 2009
“My father used to say that when you die, if you’ve got five real friends, then you’ve had a good life.” — Lee Iacocca
By the time we turn 50, we’ve established a complex social network of neighbors, friends, relatives, coworkers, and colleagues. At some point during midlife, we begin to reconsider some of those relationships — and where we need to devote our attention. We might try to reconnect with friends from high school or college. Or discover that we’ve outgrown a few relationships we enjoyed in the past. While midlife is all about growth and change, cutting old ties is never easy. Read about it in this week’s “Midpoint” column in The Oakland Press, then share your thoughts on how friendship evolves over time. — CL
Previous “Midpoint” columns are archived under CATEGORIES in the panel at right.
Cindy on April 9th, 2009
“Reinterpreting what the younger generation is wearing leaves the margin for error wide open — and that may be the reason we are reluctant to change.” — Sherrie Mathieson, Steal This Style
Even if you’re not a card-carrying AARP member yet, you might be starting to think about “age-appropriate dressing.” But what does that really mean? If 40 is the new 30 (and 50 is the new 40) can we borrow from the closets of our twentysomething daughters or nieces? Are we too old for short skirts and platforms? Are tunics too frumpy? Sherrie Mathieson has some answers in Steal This Style: Moms and Daughters Swap Wardrobe Secrets, a fabulous new fashion manual for women of a certain age and beyond. I applaud Mathieson for using real-life moms and daughters to model the clothes — and I’m already stealing wardrobe secrets from her pages. Read more about the book and my spin on “dressing my age” in today’s Midpoint column in The Oakland Press. –CL
Cindy on April 4th, 2009
“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Michigan anymore….”
Jet-lagged and buried in vacation laundry, Doug and I are back from eight gorgeous days in southern California. After I get organized, I’ll be posting some of the highlights of our visit. In the meantime, it looks like I’ll need more than a weekend to get back to my southern Michigan routine. (My new three-week personal essay workshop also begins next week, so I’m excited about preparing for my new students.) While I was away, I truly missed everyone’s blogs and e-mails, and hope I can catch up sometime next week. Meanwhile, I hope spring has arrived, wherever you are! — CL P.S. While I was away, I forgot to post a link to this week’s Midpoint column in The Oakland Press. Thursday’s column is about reviving the art of the compliment in the age of sarcasm.
Cindy on March 12th, 2009
The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach — waiting for a gift from the sea. — Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Four miles long and ½ mile wide, the narrow island of Captiva is where Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote the beloved inspirational classic, Gift from the Sea. Last spring, I finally made my pilgrimage to Captiva. Returning home with the requisite souvinir shells, I wrote a reflective essay on how Lindbergh’s words continue to inspire me in midlife. The essay is reprinted in this week’s Midpoint column in The Oakland Press. I’d love to hear from other women whose lives were validated or changed by the timeless advice in this book. And if you haven’t read it yet, treat yourself to a copy. I promise you won’t be disappointed. –CL
*Previous Midpoint columns are archived with links to The Oakland Press (look under CATEGORIES in the “Browse” panel at right). These columns focus on issues of special interest to women between ages 40 and 65.
