Midlife is full of nostalgia. Sharing memories of friendship, laughter and school. Remembering the all-night study sessions, the all-night parties and all the mornings after. Homecoming weekend and final exams. Your first date, a marriage, your first child -- year after year of life's greatest moments. Conversations at midlife are filled with "remember when" and "back-in-the-day."

It was back in the 1960's when I first became aware of memory loss.   I was visiting my cousins in Cleveland. We were watching out the window as our great-aunt Clara drove up.

One of the longstanding problems on my midlife trip has been how to get a good night's sleep.  When I was a late 40-something moving from perimenopause into the big "M", night sweats decimated my sleep pattern.  I used to wake up as drenched as if I had just run a marathon.  By the time I finished drying off, changing clothes and linens it was almost time to get up for a new day.

When Denise asked me to write about some midlife topics in the Good Health-athon, I actually wasn't feeling so healthy at the time. In fact, I was trying to figure out how to feel better in light of my persistent heartburn. My doctor had already listened to my litany of symptoms and suggested a month's regime of an over-the-counter remedy. As much as I like my doc, he didn't talk about nutrition as part of the remedy and quite frankly - neither did I.

I didn't go out shopping on Black Friday this year but I remember the many times in the past when I did -- running around looking for the latest greatest, must-have, got-to-get-it-now gift for someone on my holiday shopping list.  But not once do I recall a Black Friday that included racing around searching frantically for a gift for one of the elders in my family.  In fact, they never said "hey I have to have this, that or the other".  They really didn't ask for anything at all except to hear from me or, better yet, a nice visit.  According to the