2030 seems like the distant future, but it is only 12 years from the writing of this article—just as close in time as 2006. That year is going to mark a milestone in US demographics: for the first time, people 65 and older will outnumber those 18 and younger. Indeed, 1 out of every 5 […]
Continue ReadingMany people look forward to retirement for years. But when the time comes, they trade their old sources of stress for new ones. This is particularly true when it comes to finances. Stress itself can lead to significant declines in a senior’s emotional and physical health and even accelerate the aging process. And, of course, […]
Continue ReadingThere’s a well-known phrase, attributed to Ben Franklin (but in reality a little older), which is that the only certain things in life are death and taxes. It’s not a fun phrase, but there’s a certain shoulder-shrugging wryness to it because there are some things in life one has to accept. But even if you […]
Continue ReadingCamilla and Susan were best friends for more than 40 years, ever since their kids were in school together. Both widowed in the last decade, they grew even closer to each other. Camilla even moved into Susan’s apartment building in the Mission Terrace area of San Francisco so they could spend every day together. But […]
Continue ReadingWhen you moved out of the family home and set off on your own, your mother likely went through a mix of worry and excitement for you. Your challenges were new, and you were bound to make some mistakes on your way to figuring out adulthood. Now that she’s living alone and facing the challenges […]
Continue ReadingThe expansion of our senior population in the coming decades means new challenges for supporting each individual with their needs and their personal goals in later life. It also means new opportunities as these aging adults look for fitting ways to stay involved and serve their local San Francisco Bay Area communities. With a wealth […]
Continue ReadingThere isn’t a single thing we do that isn’t based at least somewhat on memory. Even things that are instinctual, like eating, are tied up with how we remember; we remember what food we like to eat, how to prepare it, where the forks are, how we were taught how to hold a knife, how […]
Continue ReadingLarry was devastated when he lost his wife, Edna. He’d spent almost every day with her for 67 years, and when she was gone he felt as though he’d lost part of himself. Larry had always been a quiet man—he wasn’t one to share his feelings or speak his mind, but over the years he […]
Continue ReadingBeing a caregiver means balancing a lot of emotions and contradictions. When taking care of an older loved one, especially someone who has significant functional limitations, one of the most pressing issues is a contradiction of time. The contradiction is this: there are never enough hours in your day to take care of everything, and […]
Continue ReadingSometimes simple statements, filled with numbers and statistics and the flat, census-based declarations, contain within them an enormous reservoir of pain and suffering and loneliness. That’s probably why we keep them so dry and clinical: to avoid looking at the hurt. Here are a few: In California, getting older increases the risk of falling below […]
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