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MiddlesexMD

Alive! Alive-O!

by Dr. Barb DePree MD


A story is necessary to bring about the appropriate emotion...

When I was in my early 40s, I decided I needed to run a big race. Not so much a long race, but a big one, with crowds and a chip on my shoe and a finish line and a medal. A real race. At the time I was pretty heavy, but working on getting leaner, and putting a big race out in front of me seemed a good goal. Something to look forward to, and a kind of capstone to all the hard work of losing weight and getting fit.

As it happened, the perfect race would be run in Dublin at a time when I planned to be in Ireland anyway, riding in my husband’s bags as he went there to teach for one lovely month of May.

This race is an annual 8K, dubbed a mini-marathon, run entirely by women, and doubles as one of the biggest fund-raising events in Ireland every year. That day 40,000 women gathered in the center of the city to await the starting gun. Tradition dictates that  all these women together sing the first verse of the old Irish folk song, Molly Malone, just before the race starts...

In Dublin’s fair city
Where the girls are all pretty
I first set my eyes on Miss Molly Malone.
As she wheeled her wheel barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying “Cockles! And Mussels! Alive! Alive-O!”
Alive! Alive-O! Alive! Alive-O!
Crying “Cockles! And Mussels! Alive! Alive-O”

This makes absolutely every woman in the field begin their run with tears streaming down their faces, and feeling the ghost of Molly in their hearts, and feeling very much alive. I haven’t quite felt so glad and proud to be alive and kicking as I was that day.

Until today. Because tomorrow, MiddlesexMD.com goes live. We’re all thrilled and a little terrified, waiting here, at the starting line. This blog has been a bit quiet for the past month as we’ve all been hurling ourselves into our final wind-sprints. This is an amazing group of experienced, wise, and funny midlife women who have worked hard for a year now to pull off Dr. Barb DePree’s dream of a smart, informative, trustworthy place for women in menopause to explore and sustain their sexuality for life.

And it has been a dream project. Important. Fascinating. We have learned so much, and look forward to learning so much more. Learning from you, for you, and making all the necessary connections that women our age need to keep feeling Alive! Alive-O!

Please take the time to take a peek soon, and tell us what you think!


8 comments


  • Wow. I am thrilled. Medical information and intimate discussion of things that really do matter. Thank you for creating a place where women can be and explore.

    Michele on

  • congrats Barb and friends I stayed up til 1 AM reading your intro letter. FASCINATING. And that from an octogenarian!

    bette on

  • I’ll be singing with you tomorrow!

    mjt on

  • Congratulations! Hope tomorrow is so busy that the website can’t handle all of the visits! Barb, knowing you…you have put a ton of time and effort into getting this off the ground. Wishing all of you the best!

    Judy on

  • Can’t wait for the site to launch. Good luck and THANK YOU!!!

    Anne Ogilvy on

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