For some time now I’ve listed Jane Gross’ book, A Bittersweet Season: Caring for Our Aging Parents — and Ourselves, as my current read, even though I finished reading it two months ago. I’ve kept the book posted because it is a compelling and real-life description of what it takes — the agony, challenge, love, collaboration, and … Continue reading
Posted in July 2011 …
Green House Homes are Coming: Following the Construction #1
Earlier this month (July 2011) I took pictures (see below) of the demolition at the site of the future Green House® Homes at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC). In a recent article in the Harrisonburg News-Record, VMRC Vice President for Support Living, Melissa Fortner, reminded readers that the goal is for these new homes is to blend … Continue reading
We Kept to the Lower Sodium Program on Vacation: Low Sodium Diet #VI
Our family vacation lasted nearly ten days, and all four of us, sometimes five, stayed on our low-sodium eating plan the whole time by doing the following. We planned our lunch and dinner menus. We kept lots of fruit and nuts around. I stored a small measuring cup with the nuts so that whenever a … Continue reading
Mom and Me: Thoughts on Marginalization and Aging
Thoughts From Mom to Me As we age, we are treated differently, make no mistake about it, but until I felt it myself, it never rang true. In my professional life, from time to time I observed how people are marginalized – individuals with mental illness, immigrants, international students, people of color. Now, after years … Continue reading
Golf Carts Drive Off-Course, but Not By Seniors
Why do people who could (and should) be walking spend so much time in golf carts? Our wonderful cottage community is a delightful place to live with amazing and thoughtful people who come from near and far to spend time each summer. I think that it is one of the most pleasantly walkable places on … Continue reading
Aging Parents: Chronic Disease Complications on Vacation
What to do when an aging parent becomes ill on a family vacation? With little knowledge about the quality of care in an away-from-home location, even in a place visited for years, double anxiety is the name of the game if a loved-one is taken to the hospital. We faced this issue last weekend when, just … Continue reading
Cooking and Eating on Vacation: Low Sodium Diet, Part V
We are vacationing at our family’s cottage in the North Country of New York state. We have lots of time to cook and eat, and it’s actually been fun to focus a bit more on low-sodium meals. Our relaxed experience here may give us a leg up when we go home to our more crowded … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 