I can be described by the “F” Word, and I’m okay with that. No, not THAT “F” word, but some even better.
Friend. Fabulous. Fascinating. Freaking Awesome. Forty-seven. They all describe me. But you rarely find someone like me in a movie or a show. What you find is The Other F Word. You’ll usually find a nod to the older Mom, or middle aged Mother, but usually shown as a dorky overachiever who is lost.
Bullshit. I call BULLSHIT on that.
I am proudly a middle-aged Mom. I’m 47 and have earned every single wrinkle, sag and bulge. I’m not a cute 29 year old running around in my Uggs, sipping Starbucks my with 2.5 adorable kids who are perfect in every way. Wait, maybe the Starbucks is true, but it’s usually Dunkin’ because it’s on the way and cheaper and less Hipsterish.
I didn’t get this way by being wimpy people.
We have real lives. I have managed to homeschool 2 teens through High School, lived through bullying and a suicide attempt of one of my kids, mental illness, AND helped them through it. I lived through the death of my Mom, Step-Mom, and Father-in-law, kept my husband alive and sane through company takeovers, beat cancer (TWICE!!) and I’m still am funny as hell and live for time with my girlfriends. You know, the time that you get to be yourself, if you remember who that it?
We get so damn caught up in being Mom and Wife that what the hell happens when it’s time to become us again?
I just watched “The Other F Word” on Amazon and I laughed so hard I peed. (Another wonderful part of being 47, the oh shit moment when you laugh or sneeze). I especially loved the part of Sherry the Lyft driver because she is my spirit animal and I am exactly like her when I drive. It’s my chance to take on the assholes of the road in the name of driving safely. I laughed and nodded so many times, except some of the “Never Have I Ever’s” freaked me out a little bit. It’s a show that doesn’t shy away for talking about Menopause or peri-menopause in my case and by God, it talks about vibrators.
The best customers at my home sex toy party were ALL over the age of 40.
Let’s face it, we know what we want, and we’re not afraid to go for it. AND we have the money to spend on it!
What I really dig about this show is that the director, Caytha, was told by Hollywood insiders (Including women!!) that there was no freaking market for a show about midlife women. She knew better, so she privately funded the show, and published it on Amazon. And it did fabulously. Like over 1 MILLION views for Season 1, and over 80,00 views in a month for Season 2. Which is funny because she was told that women over 40 don’t stream shows.
That was a real “F You” to the Hollywood people who said it wouldn’t go anywhere.
I have an F word for those people, too.
Formidable. Women over 45 control 66% of the wealth and are a large under-served audience. Forget about what you THINK women want, and give us what we DO want. Real stories of real women.
The Other F Word is a series of short videos that stream for FREE on Amazon. You need to pour a glass of your favorite wine, grab your best friends, and watch.
Originally published at waitsover.com