Other Side of 50

One of my favorite parts of my job is public speaking. I know that stirs up anxiety and fear in some people, but for me it’s invigorating. Groups are beginning to meet in person again, and I’m enjoying making the rounds to the Senior Summit; Rotary, Kiwanis, Delta Cappa Gamma and Brandeis groups; places of [...]

Marta (not her real name) called Senior Concerns as a last resort. The mobile home she and her husband had been renting for the past 30 years was being sold. The owner had died, and the owner’s adult children wanted to sell. The rent the couple had been paying had been below market rate for [...]

If we lived and died in a perfect world, all our end-of-life wishes would be followed. If we wanted extraordinary measures, where our doctors do everything possible to prevent our death, that would be done. If we wanted to simply remain as comfortable as possible until the end comes, that would be done. But we [...]

Today I can count more than 20 friends or relatives who are acting as family caregivers for their loved ones. It’s probably the highest number I can remember in my adulthood. My cousin’s wife is caring for her husband, who has oral cancer and is undergoing chemo and radiation. My girlfriend is caring for her [...]

Maybe it’s my aging home, my aging car or my aging office building, but as the days go by, it seems every repair or improvement that is quoted to me is really expensive. It doesn’t matter if it is for electrical work, a piece of kitchen equipment or car repair—the quotes are significant, and the [...]

A few months back a friend told me she was not feeling well and was trying to find an at-home rapid COVID test. She needed the test because in a few days it would be her turn to care for her mother, who has mild cognitive impairment. I offered to go find her a test [...]

Over the last few weeks, my husband and I ventured out to see some friends we had not seen in a long time. It reminded me of one of the things I missed most during the pandemic—sharing a homemade meal with good friends. I forgot how nourishing it can be for both the tummy and [...]

A few weeks ago, I had a two-day stay in the hospital. I’m OK, but my eyes were opened by the changes I saw since my last visit to the emergency room three years ago. I want to share what I experienced on the chance that it might be helpful to others. First, I was [...]

Recently I met a lovely 75-year-old gentleman who retired several years ago. I will call him Tim. As Tim and I talked about his life, I came to understand he had a very small social network. Tim’s day consisted of a lot of television watching and “some puttering around” with his tools. While Tim did [...]

I come from a family of cooks. We associate food with caring for others and pleasant feelings. Gatherings in my childhood included my mother’s mouthwatering pies, my aunt’s homemade squash-stuffed tortellini and my uncle’s oven-roasted fresh turkey. There were always too many appetizers, side dishes and desserts. We left the table stuffed and content. While [...]