Aging Well in the Gorge May 26th 2021
It is 3:15 on a Sunday afternoon. And as I am writing, my eyelids are slowly, unwillingly closing; my fingers are losing consciousness – typing a row of ZZZZZZZZZZZZ’s – and I know, from these telltale signs, it must be time for a nap. But don’t think I am just another old codger who needs […]
Aging Well in the Gorge May 19th 2021
Often as we age, we settle into our familiar routines. They are comforting and provide a sense of control: we don’t have to think, it’s automatic. During the last fourteen months, you may have become comfortable with the new routines you have established. And now as the Gorge begins to open up, you find the […]
Aging Well in the Gorge May 12th 2021
My daughter, an introvert, finds living in our extrovert world uncomfortable: social gatherings, networking, meet and greets. But during these months of social limitations, she’s told me, with a smirk on her face, “Now the extroverts have to live in my introvert world!” For over 15 months we have been living as introverts. But now that we have been vaccinated, we can put aside the puzzles, books and DVDs of our favorite movies and go out; see friends we haven’t seen for months and ask, “Now, what is your name?”. Most of […]
Aging in the Gorge May 5th 2021
Who wants to talk about feet? That is the part of my body I don’t want anyone to see! (Actually, there are many other parts of my body I want to hide, but my feet rank near the top.) But taking care of your feet is important. According to the US National Center for Health […]
Aging Well in the Gorge April 28th, 2021
Along my journey of growing older, I desperately tried to avoid my preconceived ideas of what old looked like: wearing hearing aids – which now I wouldn’t live without; or using a pill box – until there were too many days when I couldn’t recall if I took my morning pills or not! Since I’ve […]
Aging Well in the Gorge April 21st, 2021
The sun is out, the days are warmer, and suddenly I have this urge to start cleaning and getting rid of “stuff”. I even start thinking it might be time to downsize; find a smaller place to live. Or even fit all my possessions into a Sprinter van (an upgrade from the Volkswagen van of half a century ago) and travel to new destinations full of excitement and possibilities! But when my head clears, I realize downsizing is more a struggle than an […]
Aging Well in the Gorge April 14th 2021
“There are only four kinds of people in the world — those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” Those words were spoken by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and I’m sure many of you or even most of you have been […]
Aging Well in the Gorge April 7th 2021
All of us want to stop this tragic pandemic and get back to some form of normalcy. But how? At the beginning of the pandemic, we knew little about this new virus as it was spreading worldwide. Since those early days, there is much we have learned and much we are still learning about the […]
Aging Well in the Gorge March 31st 2021
Have you traveled less during the pandemic? My wife and I have until we were vaccinated, and felt safe enough to drive to Seaside to spend a night at the coast and walk along the too cold and windy beach. It was the first time we had driven past Hood River in fourteen months! Since you have probably been on the road less, you may be a little rusty: not as quick […]
Aging Well in the Gorge March 24th 2021
Living under a cloud of COVID uncertainty and doubt; worrying about our friends, family, businesses and communities, it’s easy to slide into life’s doldrums. Jackson Rainer addresses this state of mind in his post “How to be More Optimistic” found on the Next Avenue website. When we experience stress such as the pandemic, the hardwiring […]