Leona was worried about her mother. At 85 years old, Marie was had just lost her husband, George, of 60 years. Since George’s death, Leona noticed a marked difference in her mother’s demeanor. Once a very bubbly, chatty, and enthusiastic woman, it was as though Marie’s zest for life had disappeared. Marie spent her days […]
Continue ReadingWhen people step up and start talking, listening, and paying attention to the challenges that are easier to ignore, real change is already happening. The more hands and minds that get involved, the more we can do. Join us for AiA 2018, the Aging in America Conference, taking place at Hilton San Francisco Union Square […]
Continue ReadingSometimes aging adults need someone to step up and advocate for them because of communication barriers and other disabilities. But it’s also true that our aging community needs proactive advocates because our own culture and social constructions tend to undermine the independence and dignity they deserve and underestimate the resources they should have access to.
Continue ReadingKendra could tell that her father was suffering. He’d dropped several pounds in the last few months, never changed out of his robe, and kept canceling their weekly lunch date at his favorite fish and chips restaurant. His once infectious energy and zest for life had all but disappeared, and she no longer recognized the […]
Continue ReadingSince the death of his wife two years ago, George hadn’t been the same. He’d taken to sleeping most of the day, he withdrew from his cribbage club, and his appetite had all but disappeared. To his children, it seemed as though George was probably still grieving his wife. George and Maggie had been married […]
Continue ReadingIn the past several months, Helen had started to notice a difference in her aging mother. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it was as if Ira, who lived alone in her apartment at age 84, was finally starting to show the effects of aging more dramatically. Once a lively, exuberant woman, […]
Continue ReadingWe may not always be aware of it, but our way of relating to life is dependent on our way of relating to time. Breakfast comes before lunch and dinner, for example. If we haven’t already shopped for food in preparation, we know we’ll have to take care of that need before those meals. On […]
Continue ReadingOne of the cruelties, or at least absurdities, of dying is that while dealing with the emotional realities of death, you still must concern yourself with the bureaucratic realities of our modern society. Nothing is free, and everything comes with paperwork. During the most challenging times in your life, when you or a loved one […]
Continue ReadingEarlier this month, we celebrated Grandparents Day, which took place on Sept. 10. That date also marked the beginning of National Suicide Prevention Week. If these events seem unrelated, brace yourself for bad news. In the United States, an elderly person commits suicide every 66 minutes. That’s 21.7 senior suicides per day and 7,912 per […]
Continue ReadingI was helping my friend move into town recently, and for two days, we were unable to put the bed together because he had misplaced the special screws in the packing process. They were somewhere among the diverse piles of boxes. He was sure he’d stashed them in a safe place, but that fact didn’t […]
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