By Kara Martinez Bachman  Dear Diary, Today we found a purple swimsuit at Lerner’s. I just gave up on my diet. That’s because I could not keep it up, and because when I wear my new swimsuit it looks better when you are fat. –diary excerpt from 1980 (age ten) I have always been both littler and bigger than everyone else. How anyone can be both at the same time only makes sense if you have seen me. I have a small frame and tiny wrists and smallish hands. Sometimes, fully linked and clasped bracelets used to even fall clear off of me. So much has changed since I wrote 37…

Have I got a treat for you! I love supporting other fellow Rocking Over 40 women. That is why I’m very excited to announce that Rocking Over 40 will be giving away 2 copies of the recently released (and much anticipated) book called “Kissing the Crisis: Field Notes on Foul-Mouthed Babies, Disenchanted Women, & Careening into Middle Age” by Kara Martinez Bachman, a witty and humorous 47-year-old midlife Gen Xer. I had the opportunity to read this book which is comprised of a series of short stories on everything from love, Brad Pitt, parenting, marriage, and the inevitable intrusion of midlife we all face. There was so much I could…

It’s time to start a Rocking Over 40 “selfie” movement. I’m not a huge fan of selfies myself, but I’ve noticed that women over 40 rarely posts selfies. I am sure we all have our particular reasons for not doing so, but if more of us posted them, perhaps advertisers and media at large wouldn’t be so quick to overlook or ignore this very lucrative market. 💪 We live in a society where youth and beauty are glorified, and little of what we see in social media is “real.” So it’s (high) time we take the filters off and show the world what real Rocking Over 40 (and over 50…

Do you know exactly when you became an adult? That defining moment that declared itself to you loud and clear – I’m an adult now!  For some, that moment was evidently clear, for others perhaps not so much, and for others still, that moment has yet to arrive. Oftentimes, milestones like graduating college, getting married, buying a house, having kids, or running a successful business, have nothing to do with growing up. I’ve met young individuals with old souls as well as 50-year olds who remain in an adolescent-adult limbo and live happily ever after. During these wonderful rocking over 40 years, I’ve come to discover that growing up is…

When I was 20 my boyfriend at the time told me that I had a “sheltered” life. I never really asked what he meant exactly but I assumed it meant that I didn’t come from a broken family like he did. When I think of a sheltered life, I think of someone who is overprotected from outside exposures, unpleasant situations, and every day dangers. I don’t think that was me. I was raised by two loving parents who guided and were there for me, but I’m pretty sure I was encouraged to play outside every day until the sun went down. I had a pink bike that I would use…