Apr
3
How Empty is Your Nest?
April 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Are you the chief cook and bottle washer of a “multi-generational boarding house”? A recent survey by VibrantNation.com shows that nearly 2/3 of boomer women report that one or more of their adult children have returned home to live – and that nearly half of them have brought one or more of their own children [...]
Jan
30
Using an iPod to Improve Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
January 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment
This is such a brilliant use of technology. It’s been known for some time that music can be a vital tool in helping the elderly, and those with Alzheimer’s connect with their past, as well as to build a relationship with their caregiver. Music and technology have often gone hand in hand, and The Institute [...]
Jan
12
The Changing Face of Retirement: From Sun City to Aging in Place
January 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment
With the debut of the first ‘modern’ retirement facility in Sun City, Arizona in 1960, replete with golf courses, recreation centers and activities clubs, it’s been 50 years that Americans’ ideas have shifted about retirement. Sun City recast the idea of retirement as a non-working life of limited opportunity to one of possibility and productivity. [...]
Oct
16
The New Retirement Community: Lifelong Learning on a College Campus
October 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Senior communities centered around golf courses will one day become a relic of a past generation, and one alternative cropping up are apartments and condos within walking distance of college campuses. They’re called university based retirement communities, and a very cool idea. Am I the only one who dreamed of being a perennial student while [...]
Sep
12
Tune into Life Part 2 Series on PBS
September 12, 2009 | 1 Comment
This upcoming PBS series on the “best-educated, healthiest, most privileged generation in American history – that would be us – looks promising. An Emmy winning journalist hosts a series of interviews, roundtables and video essays to “provide real insights and advice” about encore careers, marriage, finances, caregiving, dating in mid-life, plastic surgery, ageism and more. [...]
Jul
3
This short essay is a gem. I don’t know how to post on this powerful and personal chronicle of aging from the inside out by Marian Van Eyk McCain, author of Elderwoman,other than to urge you to read it. It’s a glimpse into how she borrows Joseph Campbell’s assertion that people aren’t so much seeking [...]
Jul
3
Last week, President Obama met at the White House with winners of the Purpose Prize, the award from Civic Ventures given to outstanding individuals over the age of 60 who are taking on challenges to make society better. The six winners who met with Mr. Obama are social innovators seeking solutions to problems ranging from [...]
Jun
23
Do you know why people say you should “be here now,” or what “living in the present” really means – or why it’s good for you? This study provides some clues. Previous studies have shown that pictures of threatening information, like an angry face, activates a region of the brain called the amygdala, which serves [...]
May
25
This heartbreaking and very necessary 30 minute video, Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? tells the stories of five children, ages 6-15, who are coping with grandfathers or grandmothers with Alzheimer’s. Maria Shriver, who’s father has the disease, narrates the segment, saying how much she has learned from watching her kids, and offering them [...]
May
23
Be Aware of Signs to Prevent Elder Abuse
May 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Older people can be especially vulnerable to financial abuse or exploitation at the hands of others, usually strangers. Elder abuse is the unauthorized use or illegal taking of funds or property of people aged 60 and above. If you’re a caregiver for older family members who live on their own, it’s important to know the [...]
