Activities & Wellness

Chester loved living on the West Coast. The mild weather suited him, he had a supportive network of close friends, and he adored his apartment with its view of the San Francisco Bay. The only thing lacking was his beloved grandchildren, Lydia and Harris.

My grandma loved to have my cousins and me over for weekends or for whole weeks during the summer. We never called it Grandma Camp, but she used to refer to her family gathering space as Mother Goose’s Kitchen. There were times when we got to be unconditionally creative, sing and dance with abandon, and get to know each other better in the context of fun.

Larry had always hated the cold. Every year when winter rolled around he avoided the outdoors as much as possible, opting to stay in his condo with the heat cranked up so he wouldn’t have to feel the damp, penetrating chill of the San Francisco air.

As 2018 starts unfolding itself page by page in our calendars, we have to ask ourselves, “What is important this year? What do we hope to accomplish? What is it we’re resolving to do?”

When Janet was young, food was her life. She worked as a chef in one of San Francisco’s largest hotels and spent her weekends making elaborate meals for her family. While she loved cooking and knew so much about food, things started to change when she entered her late sixties.

You know what we’re sick of? That Father Time you see every New Year’s Eve. You know what we’re talking about: the cartoonish stereotype sporting a Van Winkle beard, wearily waiting until midnight to turn the the reins over to Baby New Year.

Once, for three years in a row, my whole family got together around the holidays to see live shows in the city. Cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all got dressed up for it. It was a uniquely memorable activity because otherwise distant family members were in town for the season. I’ve missed the tradition since we stopped it many years ago. A tradition like this is a great one to help avoid isolation and loneliness around the holidays. And, because I know my grandma really loved it too, I started looking for holiday shows that will be playing in San Francisco for 2017. We may just reignite that tradition this year, and perhaps you’d like to start one too.

Amber grew up in Buffalo before moving to the Bay Area in her 40s. Though she’s been here for more than 35 years, she still can’t get over the winters. That is to say, she can’t get over the fact that there is no winter.