Category Archives: Women and Female Related

Older Parents: When to Step In

Posted on July 16, 2013 by wordgeyser

Good health is something I’ve generally taken for granted, my own and that of my family. We’ve been lucky over the years and despite some major issues with Missy, our daughter, last year, I’ve never thought of us as being … Continue reading →

Unexpected Goodbyes: Part of the Package

Posted on November 20, 2012 by wordgeyser

We all know the poem about friends who are there for a reason, a season or a lifetime – how often do we see it forwarded on emails? It’s something we relate to and instinctively understand. Friendships in a global environment … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges, Women and Female Related | Tagged expat friendships, expats and loss of friendships, friendship and mental health, importance of friends to women, importance of friendship to good health, life lessons with friends, loss of a friend, when friends move away, why friends matter, why we love our frineds, women and freindship | 21 Comments

Role Models: Why Ordinary People are Mine

Posted on October 31, 2012 by wordgeyser

Last week saw the celebration for the birthday of a special lady. Someone who has recently survived breast cancer and who dealt with the prospect of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy with dignity and grace. There will have been quiet … Continue reading →

Posted in Dutch Culture, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges, Women and Female Related | Tagged behaving well in bad situations, bravery and cancer, Breast cancer, Cancer, cancer diagnosis, cancer survivors, dealing with cancer, dealing with illness, expat health issues, expat illness, facing our fears, fighting cancer, how to define a role model, leading by example, Mastectomy, role models, what is a role model, women's health | 3 Comments

Walking the Walk: The Reality of the Empty Nest

Posted on September 12, 2012 by wordgeyser

Having written a four-part series on the challenges of a child heading off for college, (see below for links) I’m now having to put that sage advice to the test. A few weeks back my husband and I headed off … Continue reading →

Posted in Empty Nest, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged children leaving home, Emotion, empty nest, empty nest feelings of loss, empty nest syndrome, expat children heading to college, expat children leaving home, feelings of Grief and loss, feelings of loss when kids leave home, how to cope with children leaving home, hurricane Katrina, Louisiana State University, TCKs leaving the nest, University of British Columbia | 9 Comments

College Bound Kids?: After They’ve Gone

Posted on August 26, 2012 by wordgeyser

Part 4 in a series of 4 So they’ve finally headed off into the big wide world. Whether you’ve taken them yourself or because of circumstances that responsibility has been passed to another family member, the time comes you find … Continue reading →

Posted in College Bound Kids, Empty Nest, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged college bound kids, college bound TCKs, empty nest, empty nest syndrome, expat kids heading to college, international family transitions, The Global Nomad's Guide to University, third culture kids, tina quick | 1 Comment

College Bound Kids?: Changing Family Dynamics

Posted on August 24, 2012 by wordgeyser

Part 3 in a series of 4 Whether a child is leaving home for college or because they choose to, parental emotions will run high. From the first time you held them to the day you wave them goodbye you … Continue reading →

Posted in College Bound Kids, Empty Nest, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged A Global Nomad’s Guide to University, college bound kids, college bound teens, emotions at leaving home, empty nest, expat college bound teen, global nomads, moms coping with empty nest, third culture kids, tina quick, tips for college bound expat kids | 11 Comments

College Bound Kids?: The Practical Stuff for Heading Overseas

Posted on August 8, 2012 by wordgeyser

Part 2 in a series of 4 It was a pretty big can of worms I opened with my first post on college bound kids. I had no idea all those cool, calm and collected mom’s packing their kids up … Continue reading →

Posted in College Bound Kids, Empty Nest, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged advice for kids leaving home, college bound teens, empty nest syndrome, expat college bound teen, expat kids heading for college, expat kids leaving the nest, Kindle, pdf documents on Kindle, tips for college bound expat kids, tips for college bound teens | 5 Comments

College Bound Kids? You’re Not On Your Own…

Posted on July 19, 2012 by wordgeyser

Part 1 in a series of 4 What a strange time of year. So far summer has been non-existent in The Hague and yet in a few weeks school will be back for the fall semester. Expat families will be … Continue reading →

Posted in College Bound Kids, Empty Nest, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged are you ready for college, children going to college, children leaving home, coping with an empty nest, empty nest, expat families, expat families and transition to college, expat kids heading to college, expat kids transitioning to college, global nomads going to college, how to cope with children leaving home, leaving home, preparing for college, TCKs heading to college | 2 Comments

Flying Solo with KLM

Posted on May 12, 2012 by wordgeyser

The past three months I’ve been bouncing backwards and forwards across the Altlantic every few weeks or so. Before I have time to adjust to being back in one time zone I’m hurtled into the other, a seven-hour time difference … Continue reading →

Posted in Dutch Culture, Expat Experiences, Family Life, The Netherlands, Travel, Women and Female Related | Tagged British Airways, Expat, expat life, expat travel, KLM, KLM staff, travelling alone, women travelling alone | 13 Comments

PVC: The Journey Continues

Posted on April 26, 2012 by wordgeyser

This week finds me back in Houston in time for Lizzy’s surgery to relieve Pelvic Vascular Congestion. (I chronicled her journey to here a couple of posts back). I have to admit this trip was not as hopeful as my … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Personal challenges, Politics and Social Comment, Women and Female Related | Tagged dealing with sick family members, interventional radiologists, keeping faith, kindness of strangers, options for pelvic vascular congestion, ovarian vein reflux, Pelvic pain, Pelvic vascular Congestion, pelvic vascular surgery, women's health | 15 Comments

PVC: Raising Awareness of a Chronic Female Condition

Posted on April 16, 2012 by wordgeyser

I have no wish to publically discuss my family’s health, yet a family member, let’s call her Lizzy, has been dealing with a little known health issue we had no idea existed, which impacts the lives of countless woman worldwide. … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Personal challenges, Politics and Social Comment, Women and Female Related | Tagged awareness of PVC, chronic pelvic pain and PVC, Dealing with illness as an expat, dealing with medical conditions from overseas, Expats and health issues, Female medical conditions, Pelvic pain, Pelvic vascular Congestion, PVC and vascular embolization, Vascular Embolization, Vascular Intervention Radiologists, young women and PVC | 7 Comments

Facing Fears: Linda A. Janssen on the Launch of Turning Points

Posted on November 3, 2011 by wordgeyser

Linda A. Janssen is a dynamic women I respect as a writer. Linda has many ongoing projects the latest being Turning Points, launched this week, which she writes about below. Having read the book and already written one review I can … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Related Book Reviews, Women and Female Related, Writing | Tagged Eleanor Roosevelt, empowering women, facing fears, fear of writing, jo parfitt, Kate Cobb, Linda A Janssen, Linda Janssen, pivitol moments, turning points | 6 Comments

Lest We Forget: All War Crimes Should Be Punished

Posted on October 4, 2011 by wordgeyser

Twenty years ago war erupted in the former Yugoslavia. It was shocking, terrifying and reminded us the atrocities of World War II weren’t relegated to history as we’d hoped. The war in the former Yugoslavia brought it home that neighbour … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Inspiration and Reflection, Politics and Social Comment, The Netherlands, Women and Female Related | Tagged genocide and war crimes, Global Politics and Comment, international court of justice, International Criminal Court, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, mladic, Ratko Mladić, Reina van Nieuwkerk -Racz, Remembering the Women of Bosnia, UN Security Security council Resolution 827, United Nations, war crimes against women, war crimes in yugoslavia | 1 Comment

College Bound Kids: So You Think They’re Smart?

Posted on September 6, 2011 by wordgeyser

This was first posted when our middle child was in her freshman year at LSU. As the first reports trickle back of how this years new under-grads are faring, let this be a warning for parents… for the record, the … Continue reading →

Posted in College Bound Kids, Empty Nest, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Personal challenges, USA, Women and Female Related | Tagged college bound kids, college kids and hygiene, empty nest, expat kids going to college, kids leaving home, tck's in college | 2 Comments

College Bound Kids?: Keeping in Touch Across Time Zones

Posted on August 18, 2011 by wordgeyser

Part two of a series of four – suggest you pour a cup of coffee and kick back, this is a bit of a long one. It’s a tough subject. You’re now into the final days/ weeks before college starts … Continue reading →

Posted in College Bound Kids, Empty Nest, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged Cell Phones, empty nest, expat college kids, expat kids heading for college, Facebook, IPhone, kids heading for college overseas, kids leaving home, parenting across time zones, parenting college age kids, Skype, Telecommunication | 5 Comments

College Bound Kids?: You’re not alone

Posted on August 16, 2011 by wordgeyser

What a strange time of year. So far summer has been non-existent in The Hague and yet in a few weeks school will be back for the fall semester. Expat families will soon be returning from their summer travels to … Continue reading →

Posted in College Bound Kids, Empty Nest, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged child leaving home, college bound teen, coping with child going to university, empty nest, expat college bound teen, moms coping with empty nest, university transition | 13 Comments

‘Finding My New Normal’ – A Balloon for your Son

Posted on August 13, 2011 by wordgeyser

Last year when I first started writing this blog, I began following another, launched around the same time, written by an American living in London. I’d clicked into her blog having no idea what it was about, intrigued by it’s title … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life, Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges, Women and Female Related | Tagged commemorating a stillborn child, finding my new normal, grief and loss, losing a child, loss of a child, remember a lost child, still-born child | 4 Comments

Forced Marriage and campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera

Posted on August 7, 2011 by wordgeyser

I recently wrote a post on forced and arranged marriages in the UK and the new Freedom Charity launched this year by Aneeta Prem, backed by heavyweights in the political and celebrity arenas. During our weekend perusal of the international … Continue reading →

Posted in England and Things English, Politics and Social Comment, Women and Female Related | Tagged Aneeta Prem, domestic abuse, Forced marriage, forced marriages in the UK, Freedom Charity, honour killings, honour killings and forced marriages in the UK, Jasvinder Sanghera, shame by jasvinder sanghera, shame travels by jasvinder sanghera | 8 Comments

Mammogram Screening Makes No Difference to Breast Cancer Mortality Rates? Seriously?

Posted on August 4, 2011 by wordgeyser

A girlfriend alerted me on Facebook yesterday that ‘analysts from 6 EU countries (inc. NL) suggest Mammogram screening has had no effect on breast cancer mortality.’ Excuse me? It took a bit of time for that to sink in at which … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged Breast cancer, breast cancer mortality rates, breast cancer reconstruction, diagnosing breast cancer, double mastectomy, fighting cancer, living with breast cancer, mammograms and breast cancer, Mammography, treatments for breast cancer | 8 Comments

Forced and Arranged Marriages: Do You Really Understand the Difference?

Posted on July 21, 2011 by wordgeyser

My attention was recently drawn to a new charity established in the UK, through a book I was asked to look at and possibly review. I’ve read the book, checked the charity and feel a need to spread the word. … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Social Comment, Women and Female Related | Tagged Aneeta Prem, Arranged marriage, Forced marriage, Freedom Charity, freedomcharity.org, stooping forced marriages, UN Women | 8 Comments

Death and the Expat: When Sad News Arrives

Posted on June 8, 2011 by wordgeyser

I have to admit to feeling a little heavy hearted today. I’ve just written two condolence letters – one to a dear friend who has lost her mother and the other to her father who has lost his wife of over 60 years. … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Personal challenges, Women and Female Related | Tagged dealing with death, dealing with death as an expat, death of a friends parent, expat dealing with death while overseas, expats and death, helping friends deal with death overseas, loss of a family member, saying goodbye, supporting friends through grief | 6 Comments

Left behind, and I’m not talking about the Rapture

Posted on May 27, 2011 by wordgeyser

This is not a subject I particularly want to talk about and is unashamedly personal but it’s something I’m sure many people will relate to. I’m talking the bad, sad side of living in an expat community when friends move on. Now before everyone starts giving … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges, The Netherlands, Women and Female Related | Tagged Expat, girlfriends, girlfriends moving, global friendship, global nomads, losing friends, moving on | 11 Comments

Rumblings in Expatland: Trailing, Accompanying, Stellar or Other?

Posted on May 17, 2011 by wordgeyser

There are discernible rumblings in expat land. It’s divisive stuff. Way back in the spring at the FIGT (Families in Global Transition) Conference in Washington DC, there was a move to redefine the term used to describe the spouse-following-the-spouse-with-the-job. That’s the … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged accompanying expat spouse, accompanying spouse, expat experiences, expat life, Family, global nomads, Human resources, Trailing spouse, what is a trailing spouse?, what is an expats partner, what should an expat's accompanying spouse be called, what should an expat's partner be called | 9 Comments

Take Time Out: Have a Mental Health Day

Posted on May 11, 2011 by wordgeyser

Ever had a day when you have so many things to do you know you’re going to drop the ball somewhere? Do you make lists with everything that needs to be done today, stuff that can be put off until tomorrow, and things … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges, Women and Female Related | Tagged being kind to yourself, good mental health, how to relax and keep calm, taking care of yourself, taking time out to relax, Time management, why good mental health is essentil | 5 Comments

Why Getting Fit is a Dangerous Occupation: And the Dog is to Blame

Posted on May 9, 2011 by wordgeyser

I’ve procrastinated long enough. I’ve checked my email, Facebook, bank account, daily newspapers (Europe and the US), sorted laundry and scheduled my research and work for the day. I can delay no more, not without starting to do the most mundane of … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Personal challenges, Women and Female Related | Tagged dangers of excerise, expats keeping fit, feeling good, fitness regimes, getting fit, going to the gym, Physical exercise, running with a dog, sport injuries involving dogs, working out | 10 Comments

Well Done Carole Middleton: You Did Your Daughter Proud

Posted on May 1, 2011 by wordgeyser

Carole Middleton is not so much famous as infamous in Britain as the social-climbing, pushy Mother of the Bride. Dubbed ‘doors to manual’ by some of the British social elite, she has been privately and publicly mocked for her humble … Continue reading →

Posted in England and Things English, Women and Female Related | Tagged are the middleton's social climbers, Carole Middleton, Catherine Walker, is carole middleton a social climber, Kate Middleton, Pippa Middleton, royal family and aristocrats, social climbing, social climbing in Britain, why Carole Middleton is the epitome of style, why good breeding doesn't guarantee class | 4 Comments

Wedding Bells and National Cheers: The Royal Wedding

Posted on April 29, 2011 by wordgeyser

Like everyone else in the world with British roots, today will be spent watching the Royal Wedding – we can’t help it, its in our DNA. Our Harry is not impressed. ‘Mom, what do you think you’re doing? It’s not as … Continue reading →

Posted in England and Things English, Women and Female Related | Tagged importance of the british monarchy, kate and william the royal wedding, Kate Middleton, Princess Diana of Wales, Royal wedding, watching the royal wedding, westminster abbey and royal wedding, why a royal wedding is important, why the british monarch is linchpin of british government, why the monarch is important | 5 Comments

The Best Thing About Living Overseas?

Posted on April 28, 2011 by wordgeyser

One thing we’ve really enjoyed having lived away from our birth country is the wonderful variety of people we’ve been lucky enough to come across. It has been a real bonus to meet interesting, smart and culturally different citizens from all corners … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice for New Arrivals in the Netherlands, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges, Women and Female Related | Tagged advantages of expat life for children, advantages of expat life for tcks, american school of the hague, best thing about living overseas?, expat life, making friends abroad, meeting new people, positive things about an expat life, raising global nomads in international environment, Star Trek, third culture kids | 1 Comment

The Coven Convenes

Posted on April 15, 2011 by wordgeyser

I make no apologies for continuing the theme of Fond Farewells and Private Tears – it will be the last time I talk about my girlfriends, for a while at least. I wanted to explain why they, and my other friends, are so are … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Inspiration and Reflection, Women and Female Related | Tagged Expat, expats leaving girlfriends, girlfriends, goodbye to expat girlfriends, moving on, saying goodbye, saying goodbye to good friends | 2 Comments

Fond Farewells and Private Tears

Posted on April 14, 2011 by wordgeyser

Blogs the next few days will be a little different. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t blog at all, but having taken on a challenge to blog every day for thirty days straight one has to get a little, well, resourceful. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice for New Arrivals in the Netherlands, Expat Experiences, Inspiration and Reflection, Women and Female Related | Tagged Expat, expat goodbyes, expat life, expats leaving friends behind, girlfriends, losing expat friends, losing expat gilfriends, loss of friends, saying goodbye to friends | 4 Comments

Exclusion Zones and Social Politics

Posted on April 11, 2011 by wordgeyser

I try very hard every day to do the right thing, behave well and all that stuff. It doesn’t always work, but I figure trying and failing has better results than not trying at all. I wrote about how I try … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges, Women and Female Related | Tagged decision making, doing the right thing, excluding people, excluding people from events, expat friends, expat life, feeling left out, personal ethics | 3 Comments

Girlfriends and Sunny Days

Posted on April 9, 2011 by wordgeyser

I have written far too many words this week and it is the weekend, so perhaps a shorter blog may be allowed. Yesterday I decided to have some down time after a hectic week and was looking forward to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice for New Arrivals in the Netherlands, Expat Experiences, Inspiration and Reflection, The Netherlands, Women and Female Related | Tagged expat girlfriends, expat life, Friendship, girlfriends, importance of friends, importance of friendship in expat life, sadness for leaving friends, saying goodbye to friends, when friends leave, when friendships end, why friends are important | 7 Comments

Pillow Talk: The Best Way to Learn a New Language

Posted on April 5, 2011 by wordgeyser

The Dutch are an enigmatic race. On the one hand conservative to a fault, on the other broad-minded, tolerant and objective. A confusing mix for the outsider – you think you have the culture sussed then something goes and blows … Continue reading →

Posted in Dutch Culture, Family Life, Learning Dutch, Personal challenges, The Netherlands, Women and Female Related | Tagged best way to learn a new language, best way to learn Dutch, dutch attitudes to sex, Dutch attitudes to sex and drugs, dutch tolerance, expat experiences, Humour - Dark, learning a new language, learning Dutch, living in the Netherlands, sex and language learning, teenage attitudes to sex in Holland | 10 Comments

So How Would You Define Success?

Posted on March 11, 2011 by wordgeyser

Why is it when I’m with a group of smart, confident and self-assured women I come home feeling like an inadequate underachiever? There is no logical reason to feel like this, they say and do nothing to belittle or deflate … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges, Women and Female Related | Tagged defining life success, definition of success, feeling inadequate, self confidence, self-esteem, what to do when you feel inadequate, women, women and loss of confidence, women and self-esteem | 3 Comments

Cataracts and Breast Implants: Learning the Lingo Part II

Posted on February 15, 2011 by wordgeyser

This was one of those times I dreaded (there have been many) when the reality of living in a foreign country and not having a complete command of the language can cause undue anxiety and stress. I sat in the bright … Continue reading →

Posted in Dutch Culture, Expat Experiences, Learning Dutch, Women and Female Related | Tagged dutch health, Expat, expat experiences with new language, expats learning a new language, how to learn a foreign language, how to speak Dutch, learning a new language, learning Ditch, learning Dutch, speaking Dutch | 4 Comments

January Blues and Southern Belles

Posted on January 13, 2011 by wordgeyser

I’m ashamed to admit I’ve been feeling a tad low and rather sorry for myself. It may be due to our plague-ridden Christmas/ New Year and ingesting a cocktail of heavy-duty antibiotics and foreign over-the-counter-medication which have left me looking for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat Experiences, Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges, USA, Women and Female Related | Tagged depression and pneumonia, Expat, expat illness and pneumonia, expats and homesickness, feelings of homesickness, feelings of sadness and loss, January blues, king cake, Mardi Gras, missing friends and family, missing new orleans, New Orleans, post christmas blues, southern belles, southernliving | 3 Comments

Expat Kids Home for Christmas – In a Place They’ve Never Lived

Posted on December 27, 2010 by wordgeyser

I know, I know. We all feel that sense of anti-climax after Christmas. The present buying and wrapping, decorating the house, cooking, getting excited for the children coming home, travelling to friends and family, constant activity and mania – then … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Thanksgiving and Holidays, Dutch Culture, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Women and Female Related | Tagged Christmas, Thanksgiving and Holidays, empty nest, expat family, expat kids home for christmas, expat kids home in country they haven't lived in, expat moms, post christmas blues, TCKS home for christmas | 2 Comments

Expat Moms and Global Sisters

Posted on December 13, 2010 by wordgeyser

Today I feel especially close to expat moms like me who are counting down the days and hours to their off-spring heading ‘home’ for the Holidays. As a family, we’ve celebrated Christmas in the same way every year – familiar food, … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice for New Arrivals in the Netherlands, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Holidays, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Inspiration and Reflection, Women and Female Related | Tagged empty nest, empty nest christmas, expat christmas, expat christmas experiences, expat families together for christmas, expat family, expat friendships, expat girlfriends, expat kids heading home for christmas, expat moms, girlfriends, TCKs and christmas, TCKs heading home for christmas | 5 Comments

Mutton or Lamb?: Being comfortable with yourself…

Posted on November 21, 2010 by wordgeyser

I spent much of my younger life dressed as mutton not lamb. Bringing home new clothes and showing them to the Captain, he’d say, ‘Lovely darling, but why don’t you buy something younger looking and more, well, you?’ In my first proper job we … Continue reading →