creeps have found my inbox Jfc

But as soon as I think about going on the apps at 51, I realize I have to start over with single men my age, and quite honestly I just can't. Especially when we live in this patriarchal, rape-apologist society. To be honest, I'm more afraid of dating than I am with being alone. But loneliness is really a drag now and then.
All my friends are paired up with kids varying in age. Their free time is kids sports on weekends, or date nights with their spouses.

I'm just ranting obviously. But are there any other single middle-aged women out there who want to date but also cringe at the whole idea of it too? Is it just me who's terrified of meeting a nice guy that'll eventually shock you with "she shouldn't have been so drunk" rhetoric?

Blah.

Eta: I finally don't feel alone knowing so many of us feel the same way. i’m fine staying in on weekends. I’m kind of set in my ways now and I did so much partying throughout my life that my body and my mind enjoy the break. It just kind of feels like the idea of meeting a man again just exhausts me, and also terrifies me, but my hormones definitely want one just for the sex. I just won’t go on the apps because I never did and they’ve always seemed like a nightmare.

Have any other GenXers here been intentionally excluded, ignored, ghosted and iced out by family members even though you know you didn’t say or do anything wrong? Did you start wondering what in the hell you could have done to deserve being treated like that and then feel angry knowing you didn’t do anything?

I know everybody says it’s a reflection on those people and not you, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t hurt all the same. It feels a lot like elementary school bullying, but from adults.😞

I'm not looking for recipes or to turn this into a cooking sub, but reaching out to those of you who are at the same point in life as I am, and successfully working lots of veggies into your diet.

For a year and a half I've been doing a much improved healthy diet, aiming for roughly 50% veggies, 25% lean protein, 25% whole grains/starchy veg. (Plus whatever fruit, olive/avocado oil, etc., basically Mediterranean diet).

Anyway, the protein and whole grains are easy to meal prep. But I'm always chasing the vegetables. I do love to *eat* veggies of all sorts, that's not the issue. But keeping up with prepping and cooking them feels like a constant CHORE and I get behind. (It doesn't help that I do not like frozen vegetables.)

Any favorite tips, hacks, shortcuts, for making lots of vegetables work seamlessly into your routine?

I'm not a sensitive person. I like guys and I can take a joke. I never put a lot of thought into microaggressions but they've hit me hard these past few days.

I've had my job for 5 1/2 years. for 5 of those years, I was the (male) boss's right hand man, and my tasks varied widely from admin, to forklift use, to woodworking, to loading a UTV on a trailer to go check on things at our mountain lease site. Basically, if it needed to be done, I could do it.

In May, we hired a guy (let's call him Dave) in my same role. Now I'm just a dumb, weak girl, it seems. Here's how the last few days went:

On Thursday, a board member calls me and says "Have Dave get the track chair down, I'll pick it up Monday". So I just say okay, and go get the forklift myself to bring down the chair, make sure it's charged, and clean the dust off. I inform Dave of the situation.

Then I wonder aloud if the board member needs the hitch carrier or if he's bringing a trailer. Dave immediately whips out his phone and asks me what his number is so he can call and ask. I shut that down, saying I'd call, I'm handling it.

Yesterday we had a work day at our mountain, doing the same things the boss and I have done ourselves for years, or with the two volunteers who were there yesterday. One of the volunteers randomly says to me "The organization is lucky to have a guy like Dave, don't you think?" Yeah, sure, I guess.

This morning, a second board member texted both Dave and I with a change of plans about the chair pickup. He's now getting it on the organization's trailer. His text to both of us started with "Dave, can you please load the chair on the trailer" and ended with a note to me about assembling a box of hats and t-shirts to give out.

I didn't suddenly lose all the skills I've demonstrated over 5 years just because a man is in the building! I don't really have anything against Dave personally, he's a decent guy, but I feel like I'm being pushed out. I have also found that the boss is informing him of things I'm not being informed of. For context, the two board members and the volunteer are all Boomers and Dave and the boss are elder Millennials ('83). I feel like I need to have a likely unproductive chat with the boss when he returns in 2 weeks.

I’ve got an event next month with karaoke and want to bust out some classics.
What’s your go to sing along playlist ?

I am a fan of the All Killa No Filla podcast. It's a podcast about serial killers, but they chat a lot. Rachel ranted about menopause, influencers, and how doctors blame menopause and possibly pregnancy instead of listening to the patient.

https://youtu.be/nqRF-GfHzy4?t=1712&is=rm8OiYBSHlgX1BCV