“Just one more profile and I’ll quit,” I tell myself. Yeah, right, who am I kidding?

I need an online dating intervention. Or a miracle.
It’s 2am and I’m wide awake – weary, wired and spun out.
I’ve been swiping for seven hours non-stop with nothing to show for it but an empty bottle of Pinot Grigio, a dull headache, massively dehydrated skin and most likely a trigger thumb. Thanks, Bumble.

My aunt insisted he was perfect for me. Then she tried his vegan macaroons

She lures me to L.A. with the promise of a suitor — not just one but a multitude of hand-picked middle-aged, maybe divorced, probably Jewish and most certainly bitter bachelors. “Santa Monica is teeming with good men your age.” Really? I didn’t get that memo.

Her daily spiel is aggressive, peppered with enticing sound bites meant to convince me that migrating south is the key to finding love. “You’re almost 50. You’ll end up joining an ashram if you stay up there.”
Click here to continue reading in the Los Angeles Times

Posts tagged family

Why I started writing (and thank god I finally did)

Grief was the catalyst to jumpstart my writing; sharing my voice with others has been proven to be the ultimate creative muse.

Shanti NelsonAugust 12, 2023writing, grief, parents, midlife, menopause, creative muse, writer, loss, family, loveComment

The Boston Globe: End of Subject

It’s 1986, and I’m a brooding teenager who’s already irritated with the world when she decapitates my plan to deflower my left ankle when I turn 18.

Shanti NelsonNovember 6, 2022Memoir, flash memoir, family, jewish mother, jewish traditions, humor, writing, humor writing, tattoo, grandmother, The Boston Globe, Will Dowd

Banana Cake & the Joy of Loving

He had outlived the love of his life, existing solely in the shadow of his own sorrow, depleted by grief. He’s alone, heartbroken, and already isolated enough as it is. And now, we faced the threat of quarantine looming over our Sunday afternoon routine. It broke my heart wide open.

Shanti NelsonSeptember 17, 2022Joy of Cooking, Banana Cake, Cookbooks, Baking, Chocolate Cake, Covid, recipes, food stories, covid, food writing, Oregon, grief, loss, family, midlife, ageing Comments

Fried Eggs Over Medium

Everyone I know likes their eggs cooked a specific way. For me, it is one of the ultimate intimacies, up there on the list with how they take their coffee, or what they don’t want on their sandwich.

Food, FamilyShanti NelsonSeptember 1, 2022Self-discovery, bayarea, family, Eggs, food

The Comfort of Small Things

Shanti NelsonJune 10, 2022Grief, healing, family, self care, self-discovery, loss, childhood home, parents, Finding comfort, Finding Joy, Joy, Happiness, tea, comfort, solaceComment

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Writing

Join me in launching Midlife Bytes on Substack. I appreciate your support (and I promise to make it interesting.

We’re 45 minutes into the job interview and I’ve heard the word “literally” 27 times. And don’t even get me started on “pivot”. I’m about to pivot my 53-year-old keister out of this freakin’ interview. Literally.

“Just one more profile and I’ll quit,” I tell myself. Yeah, right, who am I kidding?

My aunt insisted he was perfect for me. Then she tried his vegan macaroons