Design Matters: Aging in Place
Design is intelligence made visible. - Alina Wheeler Each year I attend the ASA conference on Aging and reoccurring themes begin to emerge and persist throughout the week; this session remained true to form. One mantra I picked up early; “Design is for all.” Design on the Brain Each of us has a brain equipped with a tightly bundled grouping of nerve cells about the size of an apple wedge located from the top of the spinal cord into the middle of the brain. This part of our brain contains about 70% of its estimated 200 billion nerve
Grandma Wears Running Shoes: My Road to Aging in Place
"The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep." -Robert Frost In life, if you're lucky and the gods are so inclined, you'll run into a positive force and life will forever change---for the good. Early one bright October morning in 1992, my fate was about to transform and set me on a course that continues to this day...Here is the story I sent to Marika Stone of 2young2retire.com in 2001, and she went on to post: Mavis Lindgren: Grandma Wears Running Shoes A
Aging: It’s Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
“Watching a peaceful death of a human being reminds us of a falling star; one of a million lights in a vast sky that flares up for a brief moment only to disappear into the endless night forever.” -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross I was handed a sympathy card the other day and informed about the death of a coworker’s parent; then asked to write something. Most of us have had this experience; all the “usual” comments have already been written as you search for a spot to add yours. You’re left with the choice of emotional-plagiarism (“thinking of
"Most elderly males have informal care, most elderly females do not." - Cynthia M. Taeuber Anyone who provides assistance to those who need it to maintain an optimal level of independence is a care giver. Families provide the majority of care giving, which is commonly referred to as “informal care” because it’s unpaid. If the care recipient is married the primary caregiver will be the spouse; otherwise adult children, typically, adult daughters or daughters-in-law will assume the
Aging in Place Behind the Wheel
Americans are broad-minded people. They'll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater, and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn't drive, there is something wrong with him. ~Art Buchwald, "How Un-American Can You Get?" Have I Ever Lied to You? 1966 Driving home on a sun-soaked afternoon I witnessed a common site for this time of year. A middle-aged bald guy was meticulously hand washing a Nissan cobalt blue sports car. Even within the brief