Make time for physical exercise

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exercise
yourtrainer.eu

Now that I am retired and have the time to exercise, I still have not made it a habit, but I’m not giving up.  Here’s why…

How Exercise Can Help You

from https://go4life.nia.nih.gov

“Exercise and physical activity are good for just about everyone, including older adults. No matter your health and physical abilities, you can gain a lot by staying active. In fact, in most cases you have more to lose by not being active.

Here are just a few of the benefits. Exercise and physical activity:

  • Can help maintain and improve your physical strength and fitness.
  • Can help improve your ability to do the everyday things you want to do.
  • Can help improve your balance.
  • Can help manage and improve diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis.
  • Can help reduce feelings of depression and may improve mood and overall well-being.
  • May improve your ability to shift quickly between tasks, plan an activity, and ignore irrelevant information.

The key word in all these benefits is YOU — how fit and active you are now and how much effort you put into being active. To gain the most benefits, enjoy all 4 types of exercise, stay safe while you exercise, and be sure to eat a healthy diet, too!

Exercise and physical activity fall into four basic categories—endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility. Most people tend to focus on one activity or type of exercise and think they’re doing enough. Each type is different, though. Doing them all will give you more benefits. Mixing it up also helps to reduce boredom and cut your risk of injury.”

Try these exercises

“Visit www.nihseniorhealth.gov, a senior-friendly website from the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine. This website has health and wellness information for older adults. Special features make it simple to use. For example, you can click on a button to make the type larger.”

Hospice care provided choices and dignity for my dying Dad

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As the holidays approach, my thoughts are with my family, specifically with my deceased Dad. Three years ago this fall, my father was in hospice care at the same rural nursing home where his own father spent his last days.  At the age of 80, my Dad was dying of cancer and did not want to undergo any further surgery or chemo drugs to prolong his life.  He chose to die while receiving morphine for the increasing pain he endured from the growing tumors in his abdomen.

hospice care
pacifichospicecare.com

In October, 2013, I took time off of work and visited him while he was in hospice care. After signing in at the desk, I walked into my Dad’s private room which was furnished with a comfortable recliner where he spent much of his time, a television, a dresser, a small refrigerator, and a bed.  He also had his own bathroom.  His room also had two corner windows which let in an abundance of natural light and gave him a view of a small, but pretty little yard.

My Dad looked forward to the periodic visits of his two hospice nurses; it didn’t hurt that they were young and attractive.  I was present during one of their visits and was relieved that they were very caring, loving individuals who only had my Dad’s comfort in mind.  They made changes to his oxygen and medication as he needed.

According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), “The term ‘hospice’ can be traced back to medieval times when it referred to a place of shelter and rest for weary or ill travelers on a long journey.  The name was first applied to specialized care for dying patients by physician Dame Cicely Saunders, who began her work with the terminally ill in 1948 and eventually went on to create the first modern hospice—St. Christopher’s Hospice—in a residential suburb of London.  Saunders introduced the idea of specialized care for the dying to the United States during a 1963 visit with Yale University.”

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Dementia rate declines in the US

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dementia rate
Getty Images

Dramatic decline in dementia seen among older adults in the US

by Sharon Begley

November 21, 2016

“The percent of older US adults with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, declined from 11.6 percent in 2000 to 8.8 percent in 2012, a decrease of nearly a quarter, scientists reported on Monday.

Why it matters:

It had been thought that the baby boomers’ march toward old age would triple the number of Alzheimer’s patients by 2050. These new numbers not only portend a lesser burden on the health care system (and families) but also suggest that something has changed over the generations — and identifying that change could drive down dementia rates even further.

You’ll want to know:

That’s a significant decline: If the rate of dementia in 2012 had been what it was in 2000, ‘there would be well more than 1 million additional people with dementia,’ said John Haaga, director of the National Institute on Aging’s behavioral and social research, who was not involved in the study. As it is, an estimated 5 million Americans 65 and older are afflicted with Alzheimer’s or other dementia.

The nitty gritty:

Researchers led by Dr. Kenneth Langa of the University of Michigan analyzed data on more than 10,500 Health and Retirement Study participants aged 65 or older in 2000 and 2012.

The percent of seniors with dementia fell to 8.8 percent in 2012; accounting for the greater proportion of those who were 85 years or older, the decline was even greater: to 8.6 percent, the team reported in JAMA Internal Medicine.

One possible factor is education.”  Read more

We are in good company…

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What could be more beautiful than a dear old lady growing wise with age? Every age can be enchanting, provided you live within it.            –Bridget Bardot, 82

good company
today.com

Beloved Florence Henderson passed away last week at the age of 82.  I grew up knowing her as Carol Brady, the mom, from The Brady Bunch.  I don’t think I ever missed an episode!  Recently, I saw her on Dancing with the Stars and she looked as if she had not aged much at all since playing the role of Carol in the 60’s and 70’s.

In light of her passing, I thought it might be interesting to see how old some of our other favorite celebrities are.  Their words of wisdom came from either imdb.com or brainyquotes.com.

  • Mary Tyler Moore, 79 “Take chances, make mistakes.  That’s how you grow.  Pain nourishes your courage.  You have to in order to practice being brave.”
  • Carol Burnett, 83 “The best advice that I could give is be kind.”
  • Betty White, 94 “Don’t try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff.”
  • Jane Fonda, 78 “Don’t give up no matter how hard it is. Try to make the best of who you are.”
  • Shirley MacLaine, 82 “You are the architect of your personal experience.”
  • Clint Eastwood, 86 “Society has made us believe you should look like an 18-year-old model all your life. But I figure I might as well just be what I am.”

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Financial decision making resources for divorcing or newly widowed women

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If you are facing a divorce or if you are recently widowed, you may find the following financial decision making resources helpful.  When I was divorcing over 12 years ago, the judge ordered a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) written and submitted to my ex’s workplace so I was guaranteed a portion of his pension when he retires.  The QDRO also required I hire an expert to figure out the value of the account at the time of the divorce.  The judge ordered my ex and I to split the cost of these extras.

Learn more about QDROs and other important issues from the resources below from the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER). 

“Both divorce and widowhood can be extremely emotional and oftentimes unexpected events in a woman’s life. The difficulties are often further compounded by the practical issues that arise during these transitional periods. WISER has developed various resources to help make this time a bit less stressful and to help newly divorced or widowed women make smart and informed financial decisions.

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Visit thrift shops for your ugly sweater and other great finds

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ugly sweater

Do you have an ugly sweater party coming up?  The Arc Thrift Shore is a great place to find one.  I’ve shopped at the Arc Thrift Stores for years.  They have all kinds of goodies, from nicknacks to housewares to furniture to clothes and shoes, to books.  They are a non-profit organization “dedicated to creating and funding programs that serve those individuals living with intellectual/developmental disabilities, with complex and evolving needs.”

If you are cleaning out your closets at this time of year to get a year-end tax deduction, The Arc will also gladly accept your donations.

If you don’t have an Arc Thrift Store in your area, check out Goodwill or Habitat For Humanity stores.  They also offer discounts and take donations.  Everyday is senior discount day at the Fort Collins Restore (15% off).  Goodwill in Loveland has a 15% senior discount everyday and 25% off on Mondays.  Check goodwill.org or habitat.org for discounts in the thrift shops near you.

If you find your award-winning ugly sweater at a thrift shop, send me a pic.  I’d love to see it!  Happy shopping!

ugly sweater

Did you go holiday shopping on Black Friday or celebrate Buy Nothing Day?

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 holiday shoppingAnti-Black Friday?  Celebrate Buy Nothing Day

by Jeff Yeager for AARP

November 21, 2016

“I saw this great cartoon the other day. ‘Black Friday: Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.’  Funny, but true.

Now don’t accuse me of being a humbug. I like to celebrate the holidays just as much as anybody else. Although when it comes to gift giving, I do prefer a somewhat more measured approach than is apparently the American norm.

I like to think of the gifts we give at the holidays as the little sprinkles on top of a huge, already delicious cake. The cake, of course, is the celebration of the event itself, spending time with those we love (and remembering those we miss), and reflecting on the true reason why the holiday exists in the first place.

In the spirit of ‘It’s the holiday, not the stuff, that’s really important,’ do you know that the Friday after Thanksgiving – in addition to being Black Friday, probably of the biggest shopping day of the year – is also officially Buy Nothing Day? Buy Nothing Day has been celebrated for the past 20 years by folks here in the United States and around the world who are trying in our own little way to put the focus back on the true meaning of the holiday season, and less importance of the materialistic aspects of those special days in our lives. Yep, Buy Nothing Day is just that: One day out of the year when we commit to do just that –  not shop.

Oh, sure, I know some of you may think that my cheapskate philosophy of life and things like ‘Buy Nothing Day’ will be the downfall of the U.S. and world economies. But I’ve also read that every day of the year each of us is bombarded by roughly 5,000 commercial messages – everything from captivating commercials on TV to promotional slogans on t-shirts and cereal boxes – all shouting ‘Buy some more stuff! Spend some more money!'”

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Jeff Yeager is the author of How to Retire the Cheapskate Way: The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Guide to a Better, Earlier, Happier Retirement.