Sistah, what do you think when you wake each morning? Do you take inventory, moving your limbs individually as though you were silently calling roll, guessing by their mobility that they survived yet another night? Their almost immediate response, because at this age the responses are not so immediate, gives way to a smile, if not on your face surely in your mind.

It is a certifiable fact that those of us who have made it to, or somewhere near the celebrated half century mark are indeed to be christened with the title Seasoned! What does it mean to be Seasoned you ask? Well, sit back while I school you on some of the pre-requisites that enable one to assume that title.

At some point in your life you have probably had one or more serious relationships, or you may have been married for as many as 20 years or more. Though not having children surely won't disqualify you, most women at this age have raised one or two children, be it their own, or a combination of theirs, and maybe their significant other's, with some nieces and nephews thrown in for good measure.

Now about that job thing; knowing you had to trade your valuable free time to some corporate entity in exchange for the money needed to buy food and pay rent, you have surely put in a lot of these trade off years, about 25 or more. You are about to finally take leave of it before you take leave of your mind, or you already have taken leave, of the job that is.

Sprinkle lightly on top of those heaping piles of life, some mamas, daddies, family stuff, births, deaths, celebrations, and many of the inevitable crisis's that come from time to time. No, you're not through yet. You have most of the ingredients, but there's more important one. Add to this mixture that fun period of life know as menopause. Oh yeah, you're familiar with that time, if you haven't gone mad, or maybe you've returned from wherever mad-assed menopausal women go!

We would have all run faster than Florence Joyner Griffith did at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games when she won the Gold Medal in the 100 meter dash, if we thought there was a 'snowball's chance in Hell' of out-running, or somehow avoiding this prime-time adventure.

Take this last ingredient and sprinkle it on the mixture before you and with a large wooden spoon, lovingly and gingerly stir together all ingredients. Eventually, you see it begin to take shape. You stare and stare as the mix begins to look like a figure unseen before. Fifty or so years ago most of these Seasoned Women were entering kindergarten, while others were yet to be born within the next few years.

Based on patterns long established by our culture for their mothers by generations of women before them, they were relegated to sedentary lives. They were expected to become mothers, remaining at home taking care of the family just as their mothers had before them. The nuclear family consisted of the father as the breadwinner, who went off to work each day, and returned home to a meal prepared by his dutiful stay-at-home wife, who along with at least 2.5 children completed this modern family. There may also have been a grandmother living with the family, or nearby who assisted in nurturing the children.

Now, before your eyes stands a woman of great stature. She is an imposing figure of strength, intelligence, and beauty. She commands your attention silently or maybe with coaxing, and her charm with just the slightest effort. What stands before you is the persona of a marvelous blend of life lived at full tilt. This complex being may have crossed uncertain bridges in the past, but the uncertainty is gone now, replaced with earned grace, determined style, soothing self-assurance, cool calmness, ample assertiveness, and a ferocious appetite for what's next!

The 'What's next" is the mantra of the new Seasoned Sistah-she was born at the end of a world war, brewed during the 'summer of love', and steeped in anti-war theology, watching and participating in anti-war demonstrations, sit-ins, and civil rights protests. She was trained at the knees of counter culture gurus espousing the absolute right and responsibility to engage in civil disobedience, often referred to as "act up, or "act out". She has arrived, and with this arrival you'll find women who know what they want, who aren't shy about expressing it, and whose tenacity at getting it rivals the successful deals made daily by Donald Trump and his pals.

Suddenly, the world as we knew it exploded with the turbulent and tumultuous '60's. Free Love, Hippies, Communes, Woodstock, Motown Soul, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones all descended upon the planet in orchestrated fashion, one after the other, bringing their own individually stylized hammer to chip away forever life as we knew it.

We invite you to witness first hand the women profiled here who engage in competitive athletics, arts, travel extensively, have become vocalists, new entrepreneurs, and more.

The Seasoned Sistahs of today were those impressionable teens and young women back then. They were front row witnesses to the strict and often repressed lifestyles of their own mothers and when offered the opportunity to adopt something new, they leapt out of their bras and into everything the counterculture had to offer.

Over time and with the advancements in science, medicine, and technology they began to preview a different lifestyle for their Seasoned years. Over time some boundaries were re-defined, and others completely disappeared.

Though it may sound like a cliché, the truth is, gone are the rocking chair years and sedentary lifestyles of women as suffragettes. Today, the Seasoned Sistah's lifestyle choices are endless. It's exhilarating that this woman is free to pick up any new idea and make it work for her. She can start a new business, take singing and dancing lessons, write and publish books, or travel the world alone. The world doesn't seem ready for her headiness. In the view of some, society is still suffering from the 'throw back' mentality-that of being unable to understand this new woman, and sometimes maybe unwilling to accept her.

But of course, this matters not one single bit to today's Seasoned Sistah, that wonderfully fresh, vibrant, intelligent, and vigorous woman 50 and over. She has been preparing for this moment her whole life. The previous 5 decades, were born of her imagination and manpulation, to shape popular opinion, to shape a new edition of the Seasoned Years.

We live in a world of labels and concepts that can box us into frames we neither welcome, now agree with. People often struggle their entire lifetimes to change their image, re-invent themselves, or choose to live out unfulfilled lives based upon a wrongly assigned image.

Today's Seasoned Sistahs have been sitting in the front row in the 'class of life', taking copious notes and are about to accept their master's degrees these awesome Life Studies. Donning a cap and gown of the most vibrant colors, she struts forward to accept her degree-awarded with honors for having completed life's assigned work up to this point. Crossing the stage, she slows down with outstretched hand as the widest grin illuminates her tawny colored, well worn face. She knowingly accepts the Master's Degree of Life Studies and triumphantly continues her stride across the stage, her smile never wavering, eyes alert and ready for the next phase of life.