After 23 years of marriage, I was finished. For the last nine of those years, I’d owned a house with a garden in East Tennessee where I grew herbs, perennials, wildflowers and vegetables. I gathered herbal bouquets and dried flowers. I was a member of … Continue reading
Why is it, no matter how old we are, there’s a part of us which continues to seek our parent’s approval? My mother never was the kind of parent who believed that everything her child did was extraordinary or brilliant. A couple of years ago, I wrote a … Continue reading
PART OF THE VITALITY ARTS SPECIAL REPORT When Ronald Braunstein takes center stage to conduct his orchestra, there’s no sign of his bipolar disorder. He’s self-assured and happy. It wasn’t always that way for the 63-year-old. After graduating from Jull… Continue reading
Does age really bring wisdom? Recent studies affirm this adage, showing that older adults are better able to estimate the slope of a hill, recover quickly after making a mistake and use their brains more efficiently than younger adults. For readers of… Continue reading
Do you think that when we slow down, it’s because we’re aging or because the nature of retired life demands less of us? I ask because, as I near 64, I look with a mix of wonder and bewilderment at the politicians, judges and entertainers who are more t… Continue reading
Are you by any chance an African-American widower living in Des Moines who loves gourmet cooking and pickleball? Or a Seattle barista, cancer survivor and gaming fanatic? Perhaps a Denver cannabis enthusiast, heli-skier and telenovela fan? Then there’s… Continue reading
Mother. Grandmother. Realtor. Baltimore Orioles groupie. These are just four of the roles that the late Thelma Knobel played in the Rowe family of Baltimore. Her daughter, Peggy, recently published a memoir— About My Mother: True Stories of a Horse-Cra… Continue reading
Last week, I spent four days at the American Society on Aging’s 2019 Aging in America Conference and the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit, both in New Orleans. My goal: to learn and report on the latest news and trends concerning money, work and vol… Continue reading
(This story is part of a partnership between Next Avenue and Nature: American Spring LIVE, a three-day, multiplatform event live on April 29, 30 and May 1 on PBS and Facebook.) Prolific conservationist Rachel Carson, of Silent Spring fame, urged that … Continue reading
When 57-year-old Brenda Thompson, a communications consultant, transplanted from Austin, Texas to Los Angeles after marrying her partner in November 2017, her greatest fear was losing touch with her three closest friends from Austin: Jane, Mary and And… Continue reading