Hi, and Why...

Welcome to Patina with Dina Aronson

A BIG hi, and a bit of the why.

Some of you are already familiar with the mission and spirit of Patina from the original blog and my Instagram account, and for those of you who are new, I’m so excited to share it with you! Here you will find a midlife mood salad of sorts, where we’ll toss it around and talk about all of the things. And there are ALOT of things!

I’ll share personal essays, links to midlife-adjacent articles and resources, and I’ll introduce you to women who are empowering us to age boldly and to look and feel our best. We will challenge outdated societal narratives about women and age, we will talk about all of the transitions that converge at this time of life, and we will celebrate and commiserate (because some of this sh*t is really hard!). And when it does get hard, maybe we’ll even do a little retail therapy where I’ll share the things I’m loving, using on the regular, reading, etc. We’ll veer into evolving style, and we’ll cover fitness and nutrition, as I’m more focused than ever on hacking my health and feeling as good and energized as possible (note that this is a special challenge as I haven’t slept through the night since the Obama administration!). And maybe most importantly, here you will find a community to connect and explore with as we go along.

Ultimately, the mission is this: to inspire you to love and appreciate the unique and special patina that you have acquired from all of that living, and to celebrate all of the beautiful, textured layers. And as it has evolved, I’ve been trying to bring younger women into the fold so they can see that getting older is not something to be fought or feared; that it is instead a gift, and that we are vital and relevant at every age. 

When I first launched the original blog back in 2020, I was very intentional about the date. It was February 14th, a day we celebrate love in all its forms, and it seemed an appropriate moment to introduce what was (and remains) a passion project and a labor of love. Never mind that the timing was, well, less than ideal with the world falling into chaos and panic just one short month later. At least that’s how I felt at the time. But over these past several years I’ve come to the conclusion that somehow, the timing was just right and I am exactly where I am supposed to be, here with you in this space now.

Today, as I relaunch after a bit of a hiatus from the blog, I’ve once again chosen the day intentionally. You see, today would have been my mom’s 85th birthday, and it just feels very right to honor the woman who taught me so much about life, grace, gratitude, acceptance, the value of creativity, the imperative of community, and the importance of mindset, among so many other things. She was the one who showed me, and anyone lucky enough to be in her orbit, how much beauty and richness can be found in all of the many layers of life.

me and my mama on her 82nd birthday

My mom always encouraged me to write, and for a time I considered a journalism career, graduating with a degree in Public Relations. However, she also encouraged me to be independent and to always have the means to support myself (and my shopping habit!), and I thought law school might be a more sound means to that end at the time. I only practiced for a couple of short years, but that’s another story (wherein the judge calls me sweetheart), maybe best saved for another day. 

One time, she photocopied and gave all of her friends and colleagues an essay I wrote in college- a funny take on getting my wisdom teeth extracted (not usually the stuff of comedy, I know, but that was the point of the assignment). I was a bit mortified, but it was the first taste of the rush that comes from people connecting to words you put on a page. It would be decades, however, before I uttered the word “writer” in response to the question of what I do. 

She was alive and well and cheering me on when the first Patina post landed, always the first with a comment, a sweet note if she caught a typo, and an endless supply of unconditional love that continues to fuel and sustain me almost 16 months to the day since she passed. In that first post, as I waxed on about my “why” and about how midlife can be a time of great joy and liberation, I noted that “we have lived enough to have experienced life’s most profound highs and lows, and we know that we can survive pretty much anything life throws our way.” While I believed every word I wrote, I didn’t realize how very prescient that statement would be for me. Yet here I am, having survived what has been the most profound loss in my life, determined now more than ever to use the space she left me to continue this journey- a journey inspired in large part by her and by the way she lived and aged, comfortably in her skin, content in the knowledge that she had everything she needed.

Since that first post four years ago, it has been incredible to watch this midlife space open wide and to see the pro-age movement take root. Where there was once a dearth of information about topics like perimenopause, menopause, midlife reinvention, etc., there is now a wellspring, if you know where to look. There are podcasts, newsletters, symposiums, books, IG accounts, etc., empowering midlife women to take up space and to see these years not as an end, but as the beginning of a whole new chapter.

Additionally, there is now an entire industry focused on menopause/women’s health to address our very real health concerns as we move into this chapter of our lives. And thanks to this awareness and advocacy, the bipartisan Menopause Research and Equity Act of 2023  was recently introduced to congress, which is a groundbreaking piece of legislation to ensure vital research is conducted and new treatments found. It feels like we are on the cusp of a midlife revolution and a major paradigm shift, and it’s a thrill to be a part of that conversation. 

I’m still working out the cadence here, and I suspect the features will evolve (just as we continue to do), but I’ve learned at this point in my life that sometimes you just have to start, ready or not. And while I’m mostly ready, it won’t be perfect. Nothing is. And letting go of that need- for perfection, for certainty and for control- well that is just about the most liberating thing about getting older. Another great gift of midlife.

I am grateful to you for coming along on this ride with me. There may be a lot of road in the rear view mirror, but damn, peer into it you’ll see a far and wide perspective to inform and fuel all of the road that lies ahead. Onward!