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Friendship is based on the stories we share…and the questions we ask.   Some friendships are all about a shared history, namely those long-term childhood relationships. There are also the shorter ones formed in early adulthood, maybe someone you met at work or the parents of your children’s friends. Then, as you age, there are the brand-new ones that can form from an introduction or a serendipitous meeting—a new neighbor, a conversation with a stranger in a grocery line, in a volunteer project or a class. We call these “pop up” friendships. Friendships, as we say in our book Not Dead Yet,...

We worry, we toss, we turn, we’re still up and staring at the ceiling of a darkened room. Yes, we’re older and we seem to need less sleep, but everything is causing us concern these days and making it harder to get enough zzzs. Here’s a list of our major concerns. We worry:  about the killings in the Middle East, and if a realistic cease fire is sustainable, or even plausible. about Ukraine and the war that is now past year 2, and the U.S. supplying missiles and more. about a big election that’s only four months away, and all...

This is a delicate matter. We all may be a bit testier these days because of  world problems, an upcoming Presidential election, TV overload and still escalating restaurant, food and gas prices. Blame anything and everything.  We know we are cringing more when we’re asked questions that relate to personal matters that we may not want to discuss. Part of the reason may also be that we’re not sure how to respond whether it relates to our health, friendships, romantic relationships, work, where we live, shop, travel, what we eat, spend money on, how our parents raised us, how our...

It’s a fact that stats concur; the vast majority of older Americans want to age in place in their homes, a familiar setting with people they know, trust and love.  Whether still living in a rental where the monthly fees are soaring or a large home that needs regular, expensive repairs, has stairs and seems lonely with so many empty rooms, many aging folks are realizing these places don’t work for them any longer.  Do you go through the ordeal of decluttering and finding a new place, even though you know inventory is in limited supply and the process is...

We hear all the time that people at our older ages have a harder time making new friends. We’ve suggested many ways of doing so in prior blogs—taking a class of any kind, signing up to do volunteer work, joining a house of worship, getting a part-time job, finding a book club that has openings which may be at a library or community center.  In our quest to find new friends, one of the cardinal rules we’ve learned to have people become interested in us—there’s no certainty they’ll like us, is to show interest in them.  This is so basic,...