Mall stores are shuttering, and David Brown is shuddering to think what mall walkers can do when the malls close, too. By title, Brown is a behavioral scientist with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) division of nutrition, … Continue reading
After serving time in a long-term marriage, I got divorced and joined the dating market. I’m a boomer, and, while it’s been a challenge to find straight, sane men to date, nothing could have prepared me for the wacky world of online dating. Before Inte… Continue reading
Stories shared around the dinner table or nostalgic anecdotes about “when I was a kid” often become rarer when a loved one living with dementia is eventually left with limited access to his or her precious memories. Family members and caregivers, strug… Continue reading
Perhaps it is fitting that the declaration was made in Paris, a city that has been honored by poets for centuries. In 1999, during its 30th General Conference, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) proclaimed that Wo… Continue reading
“It’s peaceful here, calm,” he’d say. “I have my books. I read the newspaper and listen to the radio. Of course, the news is no good. People are devising bigger and better ways to kill each other every day.” He’d sigh. We would sit facing each other in… Continue reading
The ways that a grandmother shows love are often very simple: By helping to make a healthy meal, doing the laundry or the dishes, reading to older children in the family or just spending time holding and rocking a new baby so the parent can rest or rec… Continue reading
Every 10 years, my husband and I undertake a long-distance walk somewhere in the world. The year I turned 30, Barry and I spent three weeks walking the Muktinath Trail in the Himalayas. When I was 40, we walked the four-day Inca Trail, ending at Macchu… Continue reading
Have you ever read a friend’s obituary and had any of these reactions?: You cannot reconcile the person described with what was written about him or her; the events summarized did not constitute what your loved one considered important in life and inst… Continue reading
Resilience. Authenticity. Bliss. These are important words in Mary Pipher’s new book Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing as We Age. And then there’s schlimmbesserung, a German word that means “to be worsened by improvement.” … Continue reading
After my grandmother passed away, my grandfather casually dated several women. They were mostly from the neighborhood and had known my grandmother. My mother and her two siblings were grateful that he had some companionship, especially at mealtime, bec… Continue reading