Getting Older

Choosing a 60th birthday gift for a special woman in your life is tough. After all, older women often say, “Please don’t buy me a gift. I don’t need any more stuff!” The truth is that everyone, especially women over 60, secretly love to receive thoughtful…

My friend Peggy is 87, in ill health, and tough minded. She says she’s ready to die, but one thing bothers her: she wants to come back 50 years from now to see how it all works out. She’s talking about our current struggles over climate, democracy…

What is aging? Volumes have been written on the subject, but our understanding of it, while constantly growing, is still hazy. However, if pressed to summarize the underlying process on the level of the cell, scientists would agree that many…

I love being 64, and I’m looking forward to being 74, 84 and hopefully 94 and beyond. However, maybe I am unusual in this. In today’s society, ageing is often touted as something negative and that we should avoid at all costs. And yet, ageing is just living…

I have never been an up-to-the-minute sort of person. It takes time for the latest thing to filter itself down to my consciousness. Even the not-so-latest thing. So, forgive me if I admit that I never really knew much about life coaches at all…

Some things I have mastered. Mostly, things that I’ve done over and over, often with little attention. Things like driving a car. Or riding a bicycle. Or brewing a pot of coffee. No need for deep thought or remembering details…

How often do you consider your age as being helpful to fulfilling your desires after 60? What kind of desires are they and how does being 60 and over benefit you? These questions can be difficult to answer at first because you may not view your age…

I grew up seeing some of my older relatives remove their ‘teeth’ before going to bed. Sometimes, they expressed discomfort with chewing or dentures that were either too tight or too loose. I decided early on in my life that I was not going to go down…

Not long ago, my husband said rather casually to me, “I wish I knew when I was going to die.” An important wish, indeed. He is 81. But his concern was neither spiritual nor existential. He was wondering whether it was worth his while to have a knee…

A stay in the hospital can be confusing, scary and painful. When an older adult is seriously ill, or after a medical emergency, they need extra support during their hospital stay…