As we grew into our teen years, we anxiously awaited the several minutes of the Ed Sullivan show dedicated to the mop-top soldiers of the British Invasion. Herman’s Hermits, Jerry and the Pacemakers, The Rolling Stones and, of course, the Beatles made us scream, grow weak at the knees, and writhe about the couch with our Clearasil creamed faces red with emotion. Our love and devotion were passionate beyond measure and, had we ever run across a mod or a rocker with a Liverpudlian accent, we could not have been held responsible for our actions!

No doubt about it—entertainment was a big part of our formative years. But even I was surprised at how the hours I spent viewing the tube have returned full force in my menopausal years. Maybe it’s a sign my brain is shrinking or maybe it’s a yearning for simpler times but I find myself thinking a lot about Popeye these days. Yes, I do like spinach and know that antioxidants and the other valuable nutrients it provides are important nourishment for older bodies. But it isn’t spinach I connect to him. I gave up smoking long ago so it isn’t his corncob pipe that intrigues me. Actually, I relate mostly to something he said: “I yam what I yam.” That is coming back to me big time these days!

As a woman over fifty, I think I represent how most of us feel when I say Popeye knew what he was talking about. It took me a while but I’m feeling more and more that “I yam what I yam” with all my glorious foibles and faults, strengths and achievements. And, although my sense of self is at an all time high, I also heed the words of the Fab Four—we can each use and often need “a little help from our friends.”

So, many thanks go out to my friends for being there and supporting me and my work. My book for jobseekers over 50 has been featured on Midlife With a Vengeance and WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty and will be hitting other blogs soon. Please take a moment to head over to these fabulous sites dedicated to making us boomer gals even groovier as we age.

Also, for my writer friends, there’s a contest I wanted to share: WriterAdvice seeks flash fiction, memoir, and creative non-fiction that mesmerizes the reader in 750 words or less for their Fifth Annual Flash Prose Contest. DEADLINE: April 15, 2010. Entry fee: $10 per submission. First prize: $150. Former prizewinners are the judges. Complete guidelines, mailing address, and prizes at http://www.writeradvice.com.

And, borrowing another quote from the sailor man: “Blow me down—I has got an idea!” A tip o’ the cap to all my boomer sisters—at long last “we is what we is!”

Diana Black and Mary Cunningham have been lifelong friends. They’re also canine enthusiasts and huge fans of the written word in its wittiest form. A meaty metaphor or the perfect pun will set their tails to wagging so, along with Melinda Richarz Bailey, they came up with this howlingly hilarious guide to the joys and pitfalls of growing older. WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty is a must for any mature woman who enjoys a good laugh with a thoughtful life lesson thrown in for good measure.

Now the friends are sharing even more of their wise and witty take on aging with their newest offering: Accentuate the Pawsitive. WOOFers everywhere will gain fresh insights into several areas of their lives: mental health, emotional health, relationships, spirituality and more. I interviewed both Diana and Mary on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio and they told me all about it. (It’s a fun fifteen minutes of listening pleasure so, when you’re dog tired of all the bad news out there, take a moment to hear something pawsitive!)

If midlife is throwing you a big bone to pick and you find yourself barking up the wrong tree dealing with meno-paws, Sharpie wrinkles, and the like, check out both WOOF and Accentuate the Pawsitive. As Diana and Mary put it: “Mind spinning? Mood Swinging? Middle sagging? Get used to it. When you reach 50, shift happens. But, you’re not alone. WOOFers to the rescue!” And, for women only over fifty, that’s the doggone truth!

I know you feel it—it begins like a tiny rumble, and grows steadily into a full-fledged howl: “I’m me… I’m me… at last, I’m finally ME!!”

This is the feeling the authors of WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty term “realignment.” Mary Cunningham and Diana Black believe, rather than “reinventing” ourselves in midlife, women come back to who we truly are. We return to our unique identity apart from husbands, children, careers, and other roles we willingly adopted in our younger years. In celebration of this amazing revelation, their book is packed with free-spirited, fun and pawsitive thoughts on growing older.

WOOF is filled with humorous reflections on an entire range of issues we face as aging women. Everything from “The Hair of the Dog” to “Menopaws” to the “Woof It Down Senior Maintenance Diet” are covered. The authors freely impart their observations on the inevitable passage to the land of the long tooth, gleefully sharing their own bones to pick on the topic.

I was thrilled to interview both Diana and Mary on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio and am still rolling over with howls of laughter. Take a listen and I know you’ll be howling, too!

If you’re looking for the perfect book to while away the dog days of summer, I can’t think of a better choice than WOOF. Check out the trailer and you’ll see what I mean. Or better yet, throw your friends a bone and start your very own chapter of WOOF. You can find out more by reading the book and by visiting the WOOFers Club site.

Aside for writing for us old dogs (okay, that was just plain mean!) Mary and Diana each have written their own books aimed at children and teens.  Check out the Cynthia’s Attic series and No Words for Wendel. They’ll make the perfect gifts for your grandchildren.

If you’re panting for your very own copy of WOOF right away, just click here. (It’s the third one down.)