Hello, again.  Carolyn and Mikol here. I’ve just been talking to colleagues here in Marin County about helping to educate our community about anxiety, a problem that affects so many.  Here is some information we’ve gathered to put on our local Psychological Association site to help everyone get a better understanding about anxiety. Anxiety, according [...]

By Carolyn L. Rosenblatt, R.N., B.S.N., Attorney When it comes to elders, most of us don’t think of romance. For some reason, our culture seems to entirely dismiss the concept that older people, divorced or widowed, might fall in love again. But they do. Ask anyone who works in a senior community, assisted living, or [...]

Dear AgingParents Family: Carolyn and Mikol here, wishing each of you moms and your moms a happy Mother’s Day. We are fortunate to have a mom to wish good things to on this day.  Mikol’s Mom, Alice, is still doing very well at age 90.  She inspires us all in the way she takes good [...]

“How To Help A Dangerous Older Driver Give Up The Keys For Good”                                                          There comes a time in every elder’s life that driving is no longer safe for anyone on the road. Whether you’ve already had “the talk” – which may not have gone as planned – or, are just starting to approach this [...]

First, we do have to put ourselves first sometimes.  What’s best for us, best for our own families and our own peace of mind must be a serious consideration.  Sacrificing our sanity for the sake of caregiving is not the best choice. Delegate and find others to help if having too much of the caregiver [...]

WATCH THE FILM FOR FREE Age of Champions is the story of five competitors up to 100 years old who sprint, leap, and swim for gold at the National Senior Olympics. The Washington Post called the film “infectiously inspiring” and theater audiences across the country have fallen in love with its light-hearted take on growing [...]

Even if your loved one is in poor health, you still never think of it. No one plans for a sudden passing.  I’ve just had a shocking awakening. Our friend, colleague and I were emailing each other about a recent video product we created together.  He had just done some edits and the video was great.  Bruce [...]

Howard, 92, loves women.  He has dementia and is legally blind.  He likes to give women checks when they tell him their sob stories about needing money.  He has one daughter, Missy, who is aghast at his conduct. After her mother died, Missy felt obligated to try to keep Dad from throwing away all his money. [...]

When Nice Aging Parents Start Behaving Badly We’re hearing from a lot of new caregivers lately.  Their parents are in their 80′s and 90′s usually.  The parent was doing fairly well for a time. Then things began to change. Suddenly, the parent has an outburst. A person who never said a bad word curses at [...]

Have you had to deal with this? Some families are being torn apart about disagreements over finances, care, aging parents and each other’s roles. It often looks like this: Imagine that you have an aging loved one who has cognitive impairment.  You are aware that your loved one is “slipping”.  You tell yourself it’s ok. [...]

Thoughts On Turning 65   65! Yikes!  Isn’t that when you’re OLD? I looked in the mirror and I didn’t see an old person, so maybe it’s a myth.   I definitely didn’t see a young person though. I had lunch with my daughter and she asked me if I feel 65. I said, “yes and [...]

Well Carolyn and I are happy to tell you that we successfully finished the 5K race in Golden Gate Park last Sunday. We both finished 17th in our over 60 year old age group. by

Read it all the way through! It’s a good laugh! AND really quite true!! A good laugh for people in the over 60 group !!! When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1,800 employees, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with [...]

In a small county in central California, an 86 year old retired firefighter was sentenced to two days in jail and probation for assisting his wife to commit suicide. The Tribune News in San Luis Obispo reported the story with little detail, but did report that George Taylor was convicted of aiding and abetting the [...]

Carolyn and Mikol here.   This is a season of so many mixed feelings.  We are happy to have the holidays and at the same time sad about the recent tragedies. We keep being reminded of how fragile life is. We keep seeing sad and sobering events around us, and involving us.  At the same [...]

We’ve been asking ourselves this question. Would Mom be better off in a different community? My mother in law Alice, is now 90.  She lives alone in a 2700 square foot home that she enjoys. It’s in a retirement community with lots of amenities. But, you have to drive everywhere. She is a bit isolated [...]

Some of our Congressional leaders are vehement about it.  Some disagree.  Everyone seems to get that we need to fix our debt problem by reducing government spending on something. But what? For those who are extremists about cutting government spending on Medicare, consider this: we taxpayers are getting ripped off by the Medicare program.  To [...]

Sometimes, there’s just no substitute for a face to face visit.  Adult children may be getting a wake-up call this season when  you visit aging parents.  Little things you can’t learn in a phone call can come to light. Their health may be a concern because you see visible changes on your visit, such as [...]

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day, Judith my wife and I went into town and visited a shop.   When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. We went up to him and I said, ‘Come [...]

Aging Parent Crisis – How To Cope Aging parents are living longer than ever and it creates a new need for their adult children: you have to know what to do with the many crises that come up. As our aging parents reach their 80′s and 90′s or beyond, we are going to be faced [...]