The woman who was interviewing me asked my age. She was apologetic. “My boss wants me to get ages.” I was ready for her. “I am 76,” I said. “Not a problem to ask. I think it’s good that folks realize that older people can still be productive.” “That’s one way to handle it,” she…… Continue reading How to Handle This Age Issue
Category: AGING
We Agers Are Experts On Our Own Aging Experience
Originally posted on Engaging With Aging:
With that expertise come responsibilities Many of the people who study old people, theorize and write about us, take care of us, or relate to us are not “old’ themselves. They experience old age second handedly. Earlier in my life as a nurse I often had older patients. As…
A Long Overdue Thank You
I had finally decided to clean out my office closet. I started with the stuffed cardboard file box. The first thing I reached for was a frayed manila envelope. The stack of typed pages spilled out onto the floor. After I read the first two sheets—an early attempt at documenting my nursing life—I knew I…… Continue reading A Long Overdue Thank You
Bedbugs and Friendships
My husband and I went to Charleston last week and came home with bed bugs—maybe. A lovely city, we have been there many times joining friends at the same hotel. This time, after a hiatus of a couple of years, the hotel was looking a bit rough around the edges. Our first room was quite…… Continue reading Bedbugs and Friendships
From Disengagement to Balance: The Journey to Positive Aging
Many of you reading this are not old enough to remember the disengagement theory. When I started out in gerontology in the 80s this was one of three theories of aging I learned about, and the most depressing. The disengagement theory of aging states that “aging is an inevitable, mutual withdrawal or disengagement, resulting in decreased…… Continue reading From Disengagement to Balance: The Journey to Positive Aging
Growing Older – On Turning 77
Originally posted on Write Along with Me:
“Can I help you?“ a butcher yelled from a packaged meat display. A few feet away, I was standing, clueless, in front of an impressive array of glass-encased chunks of red meat. “Yes, I guess,” I bellowed back. When he was situated across from me, I asked, “How…
Netflix Show Gets Aging Right
Originally posted on Nursing Stories & Other Tales:
I am thrilled that the third season of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie is finally here. As one of the first gerontological nurse practitioners to be certified by the ANA back in the 60s and now a 70-something woman, I am depressed that the very same stereotyping and…
Nursing Truths for a New Era: Author Interview with Marianna Crane
Originally posted on The Practice of Creativity:
Happy new year, everyone! It feels especially poignant to begin the first post of the year with a special Author Q&A. More than a decade ago, before I formally began my coaching practice, I taught creativity workshops at UNC-Chapel Hill’s The Friday Center. They had a thriving adult…
SOB SISTERS
Originally posted on Nursing Stories & Other Tales:
Thanks to my friend Lois Roelofs and her post “Growing Older In “Style,” I found Ari Seth Cohen, a twenty-eight-year-old who is spotlighting “stylish senior citizens.” Love it. Older women—and men—who ignore the old adage: “dress your age.” How come a twenty-eight-year-old man finds older people so…
THE CHOICE
This was published in September 2018 in The Olli Writers Group Anthology On our first night in a hotel room in Estoril, Portugal, the thumping in my chest jolted me awake. Still groggy from jet lag, I tried to go back to sleep but the pounding demanded attention. I pressed my hand over my…… Continue reading THE CHOICE