Articles

  In a local "Dear Aunt Mabel" advice column, a woman signed herself "Upset" and complained about having been given a senior discount without her requesting it. She wrote in part, "Aunt Mabel, I have more than 10 years before I turn 65. By today's standards, this is far from old. This has caused me considerable embarrassment. . . I think these employees should be … [Read more...] about Senior Discounts — Yes, No, or Maybe?

Shift happens. Family and friends move away or pass on. Jobs change by our design or someone else’s. Children are born and the family expands, as does its needs. The weather, on planet and off, brings about gradual or immediate changes. The list of minor and major shifts is endless because everything changes, despite our best efforts at times to keep or make things go the way … [Read more...] about Impermanence Is Here to Stay

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am not a hat person. I love hats but I love them on other people. When my Dad passed away in 1988, my stepmother Beatrice insisted that we wear not only hats, but big blue hats with drooping veils. I felt mild resentment at that, but went along with her because we had just begun a new relationship. One nothing like the one we started back … [Read more...] about A Love Note For Bea

You know how our taste buds mature along with our bodies and minds? It’s the same for joy, isn’t it? If you were to make a quick mental list of what brought you joy, starting with the earliest age you can remember, you’d easily see how this shifted over time, some of that shift being a result of your age and some a result of your life experience. On your brings-me-joy list, … [Read more...] about Where Is Your Joy?

We live in such a convenience-based society and I like to refer to many conveniences as “first world problems”. Over the weekend our high-tech Samsung washing machine, that just about makes coffee,  had a mechanical failure. My immediate remedy was to go to YouTube for a fix. Of course, I found many people who had the same issue and offered their solution to unplug the … [Read more...] about Things We Take For Granted

The other morning at McDonalds I was enjoying an Egg McMuffin and coffee. I was also doing, or attempting to do, the daily New York Times crossword puzzle. I say I was attempting because it was Thursday, and as you may know the Times puzzle gets progressively more difficult as the week wears on. Normally I don't even think about trying it after … [Read more...] about Do Women Have To Tolerate EVERYTHING?

I've heard from many people who "retire" that they don't know how they had time to work their 40-hour day job now that they're retired. I find there's a LOT to do daily, but then there are times when boredom creeps in. For example, when my husband is out of town for softball tournaments, I have time to focus on things I want to do. So instead, I spent time rearranging my … [Read more...] about How To Manage Boredom