maiden, mother, crone

in pagan times and not so pagan times, woman have been assigned 3 stages of life. maiden, mother, crone. all self explanatory. each stage marked by the moon and the cycles of womanly functions. theoretically, all the woman of the tribe would menstruate at the same time.(imagine the bitch sessions if you will). i believe there is some truth to this, having lived with several women over the years and finding out that after time we did sync our cycles. enough history and biology lessons, i have digressed.
my point is, is that i am now a crone!. it's an ugly word. conjuring up pictures of old withered, witch like hags.
i don't mind being a crone, for with it comes experience, wisdom (hopefully) and peace with ones self. i just don't like the word (label). many aboriginal tribes around the world and some religious groups call them the elders.(they also include men in this category). i'm not big on this one either as it's just a euphemism for old.
i'm not old!        any suggestions as to what we should change the life stage name to? i'm open to anything more upbeat, more life affirming, less derogatory.
and well it's true that i am no longer a maiden, i am still a mother and i'm not ready to sit by the fireside just yet. unless it is with a glass of wine and the husband.