Getting Older

My friend, Marcia, is a vigorous woman in her early 80s. Thirty years ago, she moved into an apartment on Manhattan’s upper East side. Last year, I visited her place for the first time. There were bars outside her ground floor windows…

When I was growing up in the 1960s, we were taught to never trust anyone over 30. That works great when you are 19, 20 and 21. When you approach 31, 40, 50, 60 and beyond, you may want to modify that stance…

Do you think about the future with a sense of excitement, hope or positivity? Research suggests that how we think about the future influences our life expectancy. In one study, people with positive perceptions of aging were found…

In a previous article, Building an Aging Alone Plan, I pointed out that living alone as we get older doesn’t support optimal health. And, if we’re smart, we’re building a strategy to create support and close ties. Another common theme…

I am on the phone to a major department store in London from which we have just bought a new television (current one bought in 2006, so it was well time). We think we may need an additional part, but we’re a bit unclear, so I try the telephone…

Most care partners are thrust into their duties through a crisis situation: a sudden diagnosis; a slip or fall. I was one of those, thrust into a situation after my sister passed…

Blessed are the women who soar through menopause unscathed. Not all of us, however, are so lucky. There are about 38 different symptoms attributable to menopause. We’ve all heard the complaints: suffering with embarrassing hot flashes, excess weight gain in the belly…

We use the word old to describe millions of people, things and events every day. Old friend, old pal, old man, old woman, old boy, old fool, old chap, old love, old tree, old book, old chair, old-fashioned, older than dirt!

I got old too soon. I know what you are thinking, don’t we all. But I really did, or at least I felt like I did. Menopause at 46, debilitating arthritis that is causing my joints to be replaced, and let’s not even begin to talk about what happened to my middle…

I know almost every woman over 60 bemoans certain assets they had previously, which are no more. One woman’s loss isn’t necessarily your own but most of us can empathise if not sympathise. I know this because I have very thick hair…