Adult children with a parent experiencing memory issues may want to listen to this July 2011 TED Talk, A Map of the Brain, by Allan Jones, the head of the Allen Institute for Brain Research. The lecture explores the brain’s structure, they way different parts function, and current research, and it and includes some amazing images. I … Continue reading
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Core Values of Green Houses
Check out the post Exploring Green House Core Values: Real Home over at the Changing Aging blog. Rachel Scher of The Green House Project describes how Green House movement founder, Dr. Bill Thomas, envisions homes where residents create a community together — supported by staff members (shabazz) who are trained not only to provide care … Continue reading
When the Caregiving Is For a Spouse
Check out the Washington Post article, Caregiving is Especially Complicated When the Patient is Your Spouse, an article originally published in the January 14, 2013 online edition. Written for the Consumer’s Union but appearing in the Post, the piece describes a book, The Caregiving Wife’s Handbook, by Diana Denholm, a licensed professional therapist who provided … Continue reading
Increasing Numbers of Seniors in Social Networking World
Those of us with seniors and elders in our lives should continually be aware that a growing number of people over 65 are enthusiastically latching on to social networking sites and using them on a fairly regular basis. This amazing graph depicts the percentage of adults at various ages who use social media sites, and … Continue reading
Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource-National Institute on Aging
Check Out this Easy-to-Use Guide from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) If one of your family members or a friend receives a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, this book, Caring for a Person with Alzheimer’s Disease, offers an enormous amount of information and support. It’s organized well, overs a range of resources, and even … Continue reading
Rosalyn Carter Talks About Family Caregiving
Michael Lindenmayer interviews former First Lady Rosalyn Carter in a January 17, 2013 piece at Forbes. Mrs. Carter speaks about family caregivers in the United States, noting the important role this group plays in the United States health care system. Family caregivers, she points out, provide much of the daily life support to family members with significant … Continue reading
Here’s to the Health of Remembering — Even After Forgetting
If you find yourself forgetting things (and taking more time to remember them than you want), read Dr. Bill Thomas’ post, Tip of the Tongue, over at his Changing Aging blog. He writes about the brain and presents a broad range of research findings that address memory, forgetting, remembering, age, and ageism. As we grow … Continue reading
Phone Scam About Personal Safety Devices?
It appears that seniors are receiving phone calls that attempt to scare them into making personal safety device purchases with a credit card, and it feels like a scam. I received one yesterday on my mobile phone. An urgent voice asks for a senior citizen noting that break-ins, robbers, medical emergencies or falls are scary … Continue reading
Google Flu Trends, Aging Parents, Epidemiology and a Few Resources
Flu is here and for the next couple of months or so many of us will need to take precautions to prevent, if possible, getting sick. Some influenza seasons are worse than others, and this year appears to be more severe than the last few flu seasons. But no matter what year it is, it’s … Continue reading
Celebrating the Opening of Woodland Park – Part II
Several years ago, when Jody G. started working at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC), she watched a video about the Green House Homes that were to be built. Immediately she fell in love with the concepts and wanted to become a shahbaz, the name for each person who works in the home. I knew right then … Continue reading
Celebrating the Opening at Woodland Park – Part I
“Now I don’t mind getting old,” exclaimed Marie Detwiler, age 91, as she explored a new Woodland Park Green House Home at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC). She understands the Woodland Park philosophy as do lots of others attending the first of two grand opening events in Harrisonburg, Virginia. After chatting with Mrs. Detwiler, I remembered … Continue reading
Lose the Word “Spying”
Can we please not use the word spy when we discuss the needs of aging parents? Each year, during the two-month holiday season, I see an article or two urging adult children to use the holiday visits as an opportunity to spy — discretely, of course — during family gatherings. The goal is to discover … Continue reading
Woodland Park Green House Homes in the Snow
Lots of people are working all over the place at the Green House Homes at Woodland Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia. At Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC) the staff is in training, the furniture is arranged, and everywhere people are making last-minute tweaks. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the kitchens? One of the homes will … Continue reading
Aging Boomers May be a Great Market
Check out Aging Boomers Seen as More of a Market than Burden, a January 1, 2013 article appearing in the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. The article, by reporters Franco Ordonez and Casey Conley of McClatchy Newspapers, points out that, “… the 78 million boomers – born from 1946 to 1964 – have always broken the mold in terms … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age — 2012 in Review by WordPress
WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this As Our Parents Age. Check it out! Here’s an excerpt: This blog had 41,000 views in 2012! Click here to see the complete report.
Making a New Year’s Weight Loss Resolution? Drive Less
If you, your senior parents, or anyone else in your family is thinking about weight loss as a New Year’s resolution, watch and listen to this short National Library of Medicine (NLM) video that explains how newly published research in the journal Preventive Medicine has found an inverse association between the number of miles a person … Continue reading
The Green Houses are Here — at VMRC!
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time or even occasionally, you know that I’ve been keeping track of the new Green House Homes at Woodland Park with descriptions, pictures from the groundbreaking, and many construction images. The new neighborhood in Harrisonburg, Virginia, will be a special community that enables elders who have traditionally needed … Continue reading
We Lost a Son and Brother to Mental Illness: Violence Was Not an Issue
Like everyone else I’ve been glued to my computer, newspapers, and the radio, keeping track of the catastrophic and heartbreaking events that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut. As a parent and an educator, I’ve alternated between tears and anger, prayer and frustration, trying to understand how someone could murder little children and their teachers, and imagining … Continue reading
Eleanor Roosevelt Understood Aging
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art. — Eleanor Roosevelt beau·ti·ful byo͞otəfəl/ Adjective Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically. Of a very high … Continue reading
Understanding My Aging Eyes After My Detached Retina
I’ve written several posts about eye medical care (post on cataracts – posts on detached retinas). Sometime soon I will share a bit more about my experience with cataract surgery — mine occurred several weeks ago. Recently I discovered a terrific eye education resource. If you are trying to make sense of the medical health of your … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 