I recently attended a celebration of life for an acquaintance. She was a lovely woman who lived a full life filled with family, close friends, travel, and lots of fun and adventure.  She was also a very giving person. Her wish was for her friends to come and select things that had meaning to [...]

My husband Peter has been working from home for quite some time now. Mid-pandemic he joined a new firm in a remote job. His company is headquartered in New York City. Unlike me, he’s the kind of guy that can go all day crunching numbers and talking to workmates on Zoom, never seeing a [...]

My friend, a fellow solo-ager (older adult without children), recently asked me some provocative questions. They were, I think, a sign of the times that people are broadening their thinking around what’s important. She began by sharing a recent article in the New York Times about individuals who bequeathed assets upon their death to friends [...]

Here’s a question for you, what do I have in common with Madonna, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jamie Lee Curtis? How about Kevin Bacon, Alec Baldwin, and Drew Carey? If you guessed that we are all turning 65 this year, you would be right.  All of us, along with another 3.65 million Americans will become - [...]

If you are feeling very good or very bad these days, it may be due to the recent rains. Take it from two musical camps. In his hit “Laughter in the Rain,” Neil Sedaka croons “Ooh, how I love the rainy days, and the happy way I feel inside,” while The Carpenters declare “Rainy days and [...]

My mother’s recent visit from New Hampshire was one of the highlights of my year thus far, but I can’t help but feel some guilt as I look back upon her stay. Before she came, I was committed to finding the perfect balance between making her visit enjoyable and special, while at the same [...]

Restaurant dining has always been a joyful experience for me. In terms of aesthetics – at lunch, I enjoy the respite from my workday and at dinner, conversations with my husband or friends. Regarding the food, in both cases I like trying new dishes as well as appreciating old favorites. But in these last [...]

In the past five years I have had four primary care physicians. No, I am not a difficult patient, I am the product of changing dynamics in the practice of primary care. Five years ago, I had a primary care physician I really liked. She listened to me and provided good quality care. However, [...]

Many years ago, my father-in-law Danny, who was in his late 70s, was hanging new kitchen cabinets. Part of the job meant moving some of the ceiling tiles. When he moved the tile directly above the kitchen sink, he happened upon a paper bag holding $8,000 in cash.  His wife, Mary, was apoplectic when he [...]

I will be attending two celebrations of life this month. The first is for my friend Margaret. I wrote about her in one of my recent columns, about her surprise 90th birthday party with 50 of her friends and neighbors. Margaret died in December, a week before she was scheduled to go on a trip to [...]