We all have our little quirks — our likes and dislikes. When you’re a caregiver, knowing those little things about your elder can bring them a lot of comfort and joy. Momma will only drink coffee from a percolator. Daddy likes a backscratcher right close to his chair. They’re no different from most of us. […]
Statistics on the burgeoning growth of the population of older people and their likely need for future care are frequently trumpeted. The Census Bureau estimates that 59.2 million Americans were age 65 or older in 2023, a 9% increase since the 2020 census. By 2060, the number of Americans in that age range is projected to […]
In simpler times, there was simpler advice for staying healthy: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” The proverb can be traced back more than 150 years, when Notes and Queries, a noted academic correspondence magazine, first published a wordier rhyming version in its February 1866 issue: “Eat an apple on going to bed, […]
There are not many things that an older loved one loves more than looking at family photos. My parents can spend hours looking through the photo albums and act like I’ve given them an awesome gift when I print out the newest pictures of their great-grandkids. For many years now my daughter has given me […]
Of all the unexpected changes, diminutions, and just plain annoyances that aging inevitably brings with it, those in the know agree that the hardest is losing what they’ve come to cherish most: their independence. Perhaps independence is so hard to give up because it’s so hard-won. Most people spend their youthful years longing for the […]
My glamorous friend’s glamorous mother died recently at age 90. She was known, among other things, for her youthful appearance, which allowed her to bluff about the true number of years she’d lived, even to herself, for her entire lifetime. Her secret, which she revealed to her daughter only on her deathbed: “Whatever you do […]
Updated June 2025 Communities craving ways to keep their senior residents — and to keep them engaged and engaging — could learn a lesson from Oak Park, Illinois, a village with a population of 52,000 just west of Chicago. Boosters on its website claim that Oak Park “boasts excellent schools, world class architecture, shopping, dining, […]
What’s that old saying? Trouble comes in threes? When it comes to older loved ones, that number could be more like five or six! Ignoring a little problem can turn into a huge one quickly with seniors. Take my mother. She’s one of the strongest people I know, yet when she ignored the subtle signs […]