Todays Gray Matters Valuing the Wisdom & Purpose In Aging Well

Mother’s Day is almost here. This will be the 2nd one without my mom. Of course she’s been on my mind lately. I miss her. As I read through http://familyshare.com/family/5-ways-adult-children-hurt-their-parents-without-realizing-it I saw a bit of myself. Although I didn’t forget her birthday and I included her in family events, I know she’d have liked me to call more often. A phone ... Read More »

One of my best friends is getting ready to move across the country. I’ll miss her, especially since a few of my other good friends have died. We’re old, but not that old. All of us are under 70. Every time I lose a friend, either to death or to a long distance move, I feel more isolated. It’ hard ... Read More »

Today I’m remembering Maxine Gallagher, my mother. She departed this earth on February 19, 2014, one year ago today. Sometimes remembering is all we can do. If someone you love is old, in fragile health, take some time to remember with them the good things they added to your life, the lessons they taught you, the gifts they gave. Do ... Read More »

Last night a friend (we’ll call her “Heather”) and her husband “Alan” came over for dinner. We had a lovely evening with good food and good conversation. I found myself thinking back to Still Alice, the movie I saw last weekend about a woman trying to hang onto as much of herself as she could while early onset dementia crept ... Read More »

Here we are in mid-December and it’s impossible not to notice the winter holiday season. I only have 1 daughter coming home for 4 days. Others are more fortunate to have a lot of holiday company. Or are they? I remember one set of grandparents proudly telling us about how all their kids and grandkids came home and stayed with ... Read More »

The whole process of aging is challenging. Things happen to remind us of what we no longer have or can do. For example, this morning I was behind a skinny little pretzel of a young woman in yoga. I’ll tell you, my body just doesn’t do what hers does. None the less, I’m grateful to be able to participate in ... Read More »

Thanksgiving. It’s almost here. This year especially, people have asked me what I’m doing for Thanksgiving. For the longest time I didn’t have an answer other than that I would be thankful and would eat something somewhere. Simply being alive, having the opportunity eat, having choices about what to do for the day are things to be thankful for. This ... Read More »

Only a few of those born into this world survive the vicissitudes of infancy, childhood and maturity. And this, by the way, is most fortunate; for otherwise if all lived to be old and the burden of caring for them  in their increasing helplessness were thus added to the burden of caring for the helpless young, this would be a ... Read More »

  Have you ever gone crazy with a new hobby? Did you go out and buy way more stuff than you needed to support this hobby. You didn’t call it stuff. You called it equipment or supplies, something that made it sound not only important but also necessary. I’m guilty of this. Over the past 38 years I’ve accumulated clown ... Read More »

  What kind of legacy do you want to leave? Is it important to you that people remember who you are, that they have an accurate picture of the person that’s YOU? If so, it’s time to record our life story. Your parents probably began this when you were born. Most do. They go crazy with the camera and record ... Read More »