a housew

TE you haven’t already
noticed, Oprah
Winfrey’s new maga-
zine “O* is on the
shelves now. I hap-
pened to glance at the
second edition while I
was grocery shopping
the other day, and was
interested enough
reading the teasers on the cover
that I bought it.

After unpacking the week’s groceries, I
sat down to have a read. And an hour or so
later 1 looked up, completely unaware of
how much time had passed.

Now don’t go thinking I’m just another
middle-aged woman desperate for some way
to get morc out of my life. Of course, if I
was, Oprah’s magazine might be just the
ticket. Almost every article is filled with
practical advice for living a better life.

. Like this month’s mission, which, we arc
told, is to learn to live in the moment.

According to Oprah, “Living in the moment "

brings you a sense of reverence for all of
life’s blessings.” I try hard to live in the
moment, but there are more than a few
“moments in the day that I would prefer not
to live in.. Like the moment [ discover that
[am over the limit on my Visa card in front
of a long line of unsympathetic, card-carry-
ing West Vancouver housewives, for exam-
le.

P There’s a lot of talk in “O” magazine
about spirit, our souls, joy, and inspiration.

An interview with Jane Fonda reveals her
lifelong search is to find real intimacy ina
relationship. Apparently real intimacy is a lot
more than simply having sex with your hus-
band, no matter how rich, devilishly cute or
powerful he is.

. Jane talks about our need to discover our
authentic selves (I’m still a little vague
about this), not to be confused with the
slim, sexy, cager-to-please phony selves we
have been taught to hide behind all our
lives. . :

Fortunately, I’m a little ahead on that
count, having shed my slim, sexy, eager-to-
please phony self long ago and replaced it

» with a frank, occasionally cranky and beefed-
up authentic golfing self.

ife's libido

anon

[ae 3

NORTH SHORE HEWS HOME, GARDEN AND LIFESTYLE

SS Of

vee Didn't do much for my
marriage, but at feast people
know who I really am.
We are advised how to learn
to say no more often, to
take more time for our-
selves, and to recover after a
[ose to divorce. I suspect the rea-
é son I am currently recover-
home ing from a divorce is that I
said no too often and took a
tad too much time for myself.

There are recipes, beauty tips (for the
authentic scives only I presume), book
réviews, and uplifting stories from remark-
able women. They're all pretty good, but I
have to confess, the real reason I bought the
magazine was one particular teaser on the
cover. It reads like this: “Why 24 million
women don’t want sex.” What rational mid-
dle-aged woman’s interest wouldn’t bre
piqued by that comforting statistic?

Here’s the deal, according to “O” maga-
zine. Mast women lose their sexual desire in
their 30s and 40s, as a result of the stresses
and strains of everyday life, but also as a
result of the natural aging process. Sadly,
society bombards us with ridiculous images
that tell us we should be very sexy, and so
when we aren’t, we feel like we are some-
how inadequate.

The article goes on to tell us how we can
recapture some of our lost passion. We must
figure out what we want sexually and com-
municate this to our partners. My guess is
we're to use our imaginations here, but I
bet the video store has some creative ideas
to help you figure out what you want if you
don’t.

We are told ro reframe the way we look
at sex. Like, don’t see it as a way to keep
the peace with your partner, but rather try
fo get as much out of the experience as you
possibly can. I have a friend who uses the
time during which she and her husband are
having sex to make up her grocery list.
Another watches television while engaging
passionately with her man. ’'m not sure
either of these options are what the writer
had in mind, but hey, who am I to judge?

We must try to reconnect with our bod-
ies and our deepest desires. I don’t know, I
barely recognize the old bod since I’ve had
kids, so I’m not sure how I’m supposed to

See Housework page V7

Weare...

Wednesday, July 5, 2000 — North Shore News - 15

ee eee

Food ...
Home & Garden
Parenting .....
Sports ...

Reaping rewards

GRADE 2 student Laura picks radishes for a lunch-time salad at her school,
Eagle Harbcur primary. She and her classmates were winners of the Schools
in Bloom contest, and will be receiving a Stewartia tree. Caulfeild elementary
students were also winners in the program.

the Source For Sports

(MENS, LADIES. YOUTH SIZES}

“Need more activity tiess:

in. your lifet ne

_” WHE QUANITIES LAST

(UMITED SIZES}