When times are tough, there's nothing better than a trusty pick-me-up. No, I'm not talking about partaking in vino or vodka — though a glass of Chardonnay is always nice — but using the power of film to empower you.
I'm serious. By flicking on my DVD in my comfy PJs, I have been transported to exotic lands, met hunky men who made me forget the jerk du jour, solved mysteries, and laughed so hard that my tears dried up and poof, my problems were put on pause.
Instead of a shrink, my therapy has always been movies. Not only is it cheaper, but hey, laughter really is the best medicine.
Let's face it. Late night S.O.S. calls to friends can't be too frequent. But feel-good movies are reliable pals any time of day or night.
Putting on — ok, I admit it — Rush Hour and watching the madcap adventures of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker just cracks me up. My mood immediately improves.
As you may know, my pals at FWW and I are engaged. Yes, we've made a commitment to changing the face of divorce and creating new terms to define this life event.
Divorce is a change that whether you wanted it or not, transitions you to something else. Often that transition becomes a springboard to a new career, a new love, a new way of looking at life and yourself.
It no longer is the end but a beginning.
When I split from my first husband, I never thought of myself as a divorced woman. I just thought of myself as a free woman. Free to do anything I wanted. Free to have a life full of possibility instead of predictability. Free of someone who criticized what I did to keep me connected to him even though his opinion hadn't mattered for a long time. Free to reinvent myself and find someone who was truly compatible with me instead of someone who fit a resume I was programmed from childhood to care about. The liberation was intoxicating.
Is the term "cougar" really that bad? As my FWW colleague Debbie Nigro points out, the term is used to “describe a woman who chooses to play/date/carouse/befriend a younger man.”
Debbie thinks the term is demeaning to women because it “makes it sound like older women are pouncing on innocent young men, when truthfully we are treating them” to our wisdom, experience, and an occasional expensive dinner.
“Neither side in this romantic pairing initially embarks innocently and without agenda,” Debbie wrote. “Both find it curious.”
Debbie, however, thinks there should be a new word and is offering radio stations, newspapers, and TV shows the opportunity to run a contest to find a better term. We’ll use their results and then take a national poll.
