seniors

  Life’s most rewarding challenge lies in defeating the temptation to merely exist. - Laurie Harper,  A Taste for Life (1983)   I called my friend Frances the other day; she’s in her 90’s and residing in a traditional nursing home. Our conversation always gets around to her anguish over being “stuck in this “godforsaken place.” Her home defined her in a very real sense; it was her life’s purpose. She now depends on a wheelchair for mobility and her mind has atrophied from the lack of stimulation. I miss our challenging conversations in her home office and watching

    The home should be the treasure chest of living. -Le Corbusier Once in a while I’m delighted by someone else’s thoughts; so much so, I’d wish I had written them. This is such a case…A guest post by Ronny Wiskin:    Home, a place with familiar surroundings having provided years of memorable events. Staying in your home might still be your best option. Why are so many mature adults moving after investing a considerable amount of time and resources into their properties? Before making that decision, why not investigate options that are available to

 (Photo Reuters) The lover is a monotheist who knows that other people worship different gods but cannot himself imagine that there could be other gods. -Theodor Reik, Of Love and Lust, 1957 When I was working as a nurse’s aide during my under-graduate days in a nursing home we had a resident with a girlfriend who made conjugal visits. We all were aware of the scheduled times and pulled the curtain on his semi-private room during these encounters. Even his roommate “Sam” who’s stroke left him in a wheelchair with

  Then it don't matter. I'll be all around in the dark - I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look - wherever there's a fight, so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready, and when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build - I'll be there, too. --Tom Joad Character in The

  To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter. -Euripides I recently posted a “best-of” (retread) blog titled: The Meaning of Things to make a point that meaningful objects from home lose meaning in institutions like nursing homes. When bloggers share ideas/concepts/stories on the net, we can only hope—like sending children off to school, they will do good in the world or have some positive influence. This post evoked a response I will always remember—and made my point more eloquently and personally than any of my efforts may have engendered.