My phone just rang. The front desk was calling to say I have a package, so I ran down (not quite literally possible at 95) to get it. Then I knew from the size and the weight: it was the fruitcake I always get from my sister. In this elder community from which I […]
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From somewhere I got a message ‘way back last January: “This is not the year for you to get everything you want; it is the year for you to be grateful for everything you have.” Because I wanted to quote this and not commit plagiarism, I looked up the origin of the saying, and I […]
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When you are moving to a retirement home, the question arises: can I take the car? Will I need the car? Without a car, how will I have transportation when I need it? We Americans love our cars. They give us a feeling of independence. A car in the parking lot means: We are not […]
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One of the reasons people move to elder communities is that they begin losing their ability to handle the necessary chores of living: cooking, dishwashing, laundry, shopping, and transportation to multiple medical appointments. This makes it crucial to know before we move exactly how much help we can expect […]
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I had just stepped off the curb in front of the pharmacy where I had picked up a prescription and purchased things I hoped would relieve the callus on my foot. To my left was a big vehicle, some kind of van, high off the ground, with a man behind the wheel and a young […]
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Once a friend of mine, visiting in a nursing home for the elderly, said “Merry Christmas” at the bedside of a woman who then began to cry and said, “I didn’t know it was Christmas.” My friend was angry. She had heard Christmas music in the lobby, but there was none on […]
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The First Question Posted on May 25, 2021 by frances0615@att.net July 1, 2021 The obvious first question that must be asked when we are facing the question of where to live when we are old is simple: Where will I be safe? I have known that for a long time. But a few days ago […]
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If you are getting old and know it and thinking to move yourself to an independent living/assisted care home, you are faced with more questions than you faced when planning your fancy wedding. For instance, to drive or not to drive. In other words, to take your car to the retirement home or not. […]
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So much has happened in the short time since I finished Helping Yourself Grow Old. I read the page proofs in defiance of my knowledge that it is nearly impossible for a writer to accurately proof-read her own work. (Our brains tend to see what we meant to say, missing little things like transposed letters.) […]
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On October 19 on the evening newscast, NBC reported these words out of North Korea: “Negotiation is only possible if America’s nuclear weapons are also on the table.” Days later the words are still ringing in my ears, in spite of perpetual static on every other topic imaginable. I have heard over and over […]
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