Posts Tagged With ‘ Barbara Klein ’

GUEST WRITER, HAZEL BRIDGES Note from drb: A special shout out to Guest Author, Hazel Bridges. She chose an issue I don’t have experience with, and would not have thought to cover. It’s spring. Love is in the air all around us. Seniors are not immune to spring-fever and many adults find themselves in later-year romances. Some of those relationships progress onward to house-mates or marriages. Marrying later in life opens a new chapter filled with unique joys and challenges. Senior couples bring a wealth of experience to their union, yet they face specific considerations in blending their... Continue Reading

This is a perfect time for the Big Reveal, the ultimate secret to longevity. After almost 10 years writing this blog, and for some of you almost 10 years reading it, I figured it was a goal to conquer, a treasure to find. The Plan I couldn’t do it. My plan was to write an entire blog revealing the #1 key to longevity, THE queen-of-queens from all the rest. After I described the benefits and shared study literature reinforcing my theory, perhaps even promoting my own fitness program (PizzazzEE-25), I would end explaining the ultimate key. No. Actually, that wouldn’t be the end. The end would... Continue Reading

Last week, sitting in a class on aging issues and care resources, my head popped up in surprise. A woman inquired about a term I had not heard before – “Hospital Induced Dementia.” Those of us who work in, around, write or even just read about health care are frequently alerted to ‘new’ terminology. I figured others might not be familiar with this risk either, and awareness is a helpful thing. The phrase was new to me, but when I decided to do more reading on it, I realized that the experience was not new to me at all.  I had encountered it three times with my mother, never having... Continue Reading

On Valentine’s Day, just past, a long-time friend from back east died. A big guy, he sadly became less and less interested in aging with any kind of pizzazz. Kent was older than me, but for a while, when we were both single, we were close friends (without benefits). At a time in our lives when it might have been easy to let loneliness swallow us, we each served as a fairly-healthy crutch. Good times, fun adventures and a fair number of laughs. Later we each found someone leading us both to “happily ever-after” relationships. But our own relationship did not always go happily forward. The... Continue Reading

Chop, Chop, Scrap, Scrap, Swish, Swish. Sounds similar to these come from my kitchen many hours a week. Repeat, MANY hours. It dawned on me recently that there’s a great variety displayed in our kitchen utensils, and their quality. Over the years, I’ve accumulated 4 vegetable (potato) peelers. Not all are created equal. As we age, we can get fussier about the material things around us, and why not? We want reliable, consistent function. Universal Design One of those chop/scrap/swish times got me thinking about universal design and aging in place. No doubt, you’ve read something about universal... Continue Reading

Have you noticed, the color red adorns half the store aisles currently, promotions for the next holiday marketing opportunity? How about a different kind of ‘valentine’ for yourself or a loved one this year? I often attend or listen to presentations on health care, aging and a multitude of other issues. This is aside from all the political policy ones in which I take part. These days with the aid of zoom and webinars near and far, there are really too many to consider. We have to pick carefully. Frankly, I don’t always. Some are disappointing. Not this one. I listened to a local neurologist... Continue Reading

I remember the day that Sonia Sotomayer was sworn into office, replacing Justice David Souter and being the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court. Yet, perhaps receiving more attention was a summer day before that in 2009. She had 6 meetings scheduled with Senate leaders (who would decide her fate). While rushing through the LaGuardia airport en route to the consultations, she stumbled and fractured her ankle. She arrived at the meetings on crutches and all the pictures (like a famous one with Senator Grasley) showed her in a big white cast. These types of headlines caught mishaps of others... Continue Reading

Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with Interest. It’s that time again. Sharing a few things that I’ve learned each year is always difficult. Picking out a variety and not getting too much into the weeds is tricky. The latter is tough because as I start reading more and more and the hour is gone, and then the next hour is gone. I know that you are – like I am – overwhelmed with news and materials from myriad sources. I send thanks to loyal readers who keep Aging_With_Pizzazz as one of those sources. Admittedly, my dozen fragments are just tidbits to consider, but hopefully a bit of fun... Continue Reading

For years now, I have periodically re-visited a chart I made for myself eons ago.  It has undergone numerous reincarnations; presumably following the evolution of my own life and ideas. It was originally produced for my first (and now out-of-print) book, cited in the footnote.  However, I had actually been working on it long before that.  So, taking it out of the closet once again and shaking off the virtual mothball-smelling dust, I updated it (at least) one more time. My Gift to You I offer this ABCs chart to you as a year-end gift.  I hope you can relate to it for the reminders we all... Continue Reading

We’ve all read about loneliness in senior-hood. I know I’ve “been there.” Most of us have. Some of us experience it all too often, to one degree or another. I recently heard a statistic from my (current) home state of Oregon that shocked me. The state has the highest rate of suicide in males over 85 years old. We have a large population in rural settings. That frequently results in both economic hardships and social isolation. This is despite the stereotype of traditional civic groups and church activities that are thought to be more active and common in small towns and rural areas. When... Continue Reading