A few weeks ago, as he was walking his dog around his neighborhood, my friend Jerry experienced pain and pressure in his chest. He’d forgotten his cellphone, so he continued up the hill to his house, stopping four times to catch his breath before arriving home. Once he was inside the pain subsided, and he [...]

I recently visited New Hampshire to join my mother in celebrating her 85th birthday. While planning the visit, I asked my mother if she would like to go on a short trip with me—maybe a visit to Cape Cod or to Maine? My mother has temporarily lost her “partner in crime” for outings. My sister [...]

When most people hear the words “planned giving,” their eyes glaze over. In the over-50 population, there’s a general lack of awareness and understanding about the concept. This is too bad, because with the collective wealth of baby boomers, their planned gifts can have significant social impact. Planned giving is the process of making a [...]

I’ve trained my mom to be a case manager for seniors. Well, not really, but linking our daily conversations along with her 85 years of life experience, my mom can give some pretty good advice when asked. Mom has known her close friend Bernadette since high school. They both married their hometown sweethearts, and the [...]

Today’s baby boomers range from 55 to 73 years old. Studies show that “gray divorce”—marital splits among senior and nearly senior citizens— is increasingly common. According to a Pew Research Center report, the divorce rate for people in the United States age 50 and older is now about double what it was in the 1990s. [...]

Many years ago I took courses at the Center for Creative Leadership, a world-renowned leadership-development firm. I worked for Dole at the time, and I guess they had high hopes for my changing the world, or at least improving my portion of the organization. One of the courses I took was called “Leading Creatively.” I [...]

I just received my fifth email this month on the same topic. In the email, my friend informed me he’s canceled his landline service and has chosen to use only his cellphone for voice communication because of the abundance of robocalls and scams he was receiving. Unfortunately, this will not solve his robocall problem. A [...]

I volunteered to work at the recent Thousand Oaks Chili Cook-Off for a friend who was going out of town and didn’t want to leave the Rotary Club that puts on the event short-handed. It was to be an all-day assignment, so I asked my husband if he’d like to join me. I have no [...]

If you live an hour or more away from a loved one who needs your care, you’re a long-distance caregiver.   Based upon the needs of the care receiver, as well as the skills, abilities and limitations of the caregiver, every long-distance caregiving experience is different. I’ve been a long-distance caregiver on two occasions, each [...]

I have a dear friend, Nancy, whose husband died unexpectedly several years ago. She was recounting the situation to me and how another friend of hers, a physician, wanted to give her some medication to calm her during the experience. Nancy’s response: “I have too much to do. I can’t be out of it.” We [...]