Other Side of 50

My friend, a fellow solo-ager (older adult without children), recently asked me some provocative questions. They were, I think, a sign of the times that people are broadening their thinking around what’s important. She began by sharing a recent article in the New York Times about individuals who bequeathed assets [...]

Here’s a question for you, what do I have in common with Madonna, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jamie Lee Curtis? How about Kevin Bacon, Alec Baldwin, and Drew Carey? If you guessed that we are all turning 65 this year, you would be right.  All of us, along with another 3.65 [...]

If you are feeling very good or very bad these days, it may be due to the recent rains. Take it from two musical camps. In his hit “Laughter in the Rain,” Neil Sedaka croons “Ooh, how I love the rainy days, and the happy way I feel inside,” while The [...]

My mother’s recent visit from New Hampshire was one of the highlights of my year thus far, but I can’t help but feel some guilt as I look back upon her stay. Before she came, I was committed to finding the perfect balance between making her visit enjoyable and [...]

Restaurant dining has always been a joyful experience for me. In terms of aesthetics – at lunch, I enjoy the respite from my workday and at dinner, conversations with my husband or friends. Regarding the food, in both cases I like trying new dishes as well as appreciating old [...]

In the past five years I have had four primary care physicians. No, I am not a difficult patient, I am the product of changing dynamics in the practice of primary care. Five years ago, I had a primary care physician I really liked. She listened to me and [...]

Many years ago, my father-in-law Danny, who was in his late 70s, was hanging new kitchen cabinets. Part of the job meant moving some of the ceiling tiles. When he moved the tile directly above the kitchen sink, he happened upon a paper bag holding $8,000 in cash.  His wife, [...]

I will be attending two celebrations of life this month. The first is for my friend Margaret. I wrote about her in one of my recent columns, about her surprise 90th birthday party with 50 of her friends and neighbors. Margaret died in December, a week before she was scheduled to [...]

As one year comes to an end, a new one begins. I recently received my 2023 monthly planner. Full of expectations for the coming year, I can’t wait to begin to fill it up with appointments, activities, and events. Each year I spend some time looking for just the right [...]

It might sound like a random invitation, but at a recent holiday gathering of women friends, a community acquaintance, Terry, invited me to go for a walk. We’d been talking about feeling a bit stressed and sad watching some of the rude behavior of others, whether in the media or [...]

It was my recent fall - documented extensively in previous columns - that compelled me to suggest to my husband that we review our estate plan. I guess I needed to remind myself that I am not immortal, and I wanted to be sure that our plan fits our current [...]

The organ and tissue donation process is unfamiliar to a lot of us. Some people may not even know they are registered donors. Understanding the law and how it is implemented is important. The first time many of us heard of choices about organ donation was at the DMV. [...]

For weeks, friends and neighbors worked on planning a surprise block party for my friend Margaret’s 90th birthday. On the big day, over 50 people showed up with food, drink and gifts to celebrate this amazing lady. Several of the neighbors who attended the party had read my Acorn column [...]

Due to this year’s meteoric rise in the consumer price index, a measure of inflation in the cost of goods and services, Social Security beneficiaries will receive an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment for 2023. Only three times in the past 46 years has the COLA been higher - in 1979 to [...]

Morning walks in my neighborhood are one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. I love the coolness of daybreak and the special sightings of the stag and two does that frequent our open space. I also enjoy my walk because each day at that time I call [...]

How old is too old for working at a job? Last week a news story hit my inbox and it really got me to thinking about age and retirement. The article noted that Target Corp. abandoned its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its CEO, Brian Cornell. Cornell is [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot about retirement lately. One of our amazing staff members, who has been with Senior Concerns for the last 13 years, retired last month. It just doesn’t seem real. I always thought of Dana as young. Certainly not the person to retire before me. Dana has [...]

If you need to be reminded of the beauty of humanity, you only need to look at acts of compassion. Recently I was eating lunch at a restaurant that plays sports on its TVs. I normally pay little attention to television as I like to read a book during lunch. [...]

I have a 79-year-old friend who I have lunch with about once a month. We met many years ago by happenstance, as she had a weekly appointment that ended when mine began. We started to chat in the waiting room and over time became friends. She is a smart woman [...]

One thing the past few years has taught us is the value of breaking bread with family and friends. Holiday meals, casual barbecues, Sunday suppers and milestone dinner celebrations were sorely missed during the height of the pandemic. My friend Nancy and I were talking recently about one of her [...]