Articles for WRAL

A Cartography of Waiting

How does one live in the now while also awaiting the results of significant health tests? Everyone finds a way because there is no choice. Over the last three weeks, since an unanticipated hospital stay (what hospital stay is anticipated?), I have been stuck in this mode of waiting—waiting for my body to be cleared of...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Avoid These Common Setbacks When Moving in Assisted Living

It is stressful enough to get mom or dad to agree to move to Assisted Living, much less to complete all the required paperwork. Keep in mind, a smooth move-in day can make the transition very easy or even harder. Here are some tips on how to prepare given by veteran Care Coordinator Norelle Kranking,...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/



Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/



Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Caregiver Support Groups

Caregiving can be a very isolating experience and while family and friends may be supportive and well-meaning, they can’t fully understand the impact of caregiving on one’s life. Recently, several of my clients have asked for support due to severe burnout. I reached out to Laurie Ray, MSW, CMSW, C-ASWCM, an Advanced Professional Aging Life...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Fear

Sometimes old coping mechanisms don't work in new situations. Sometimes we are forced to change. It's not always a bad thing. The bulk of my clients call me in crisis and full of fear. Fear that there is no solution to address the very difficult situation at-hand or, if there is one, they cannot afford it....
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Say Thank You

When words aren't sufficient to express how grateful you are, say thank you anyway. Most of my working hours are spent helping care for someone else in need, but this past week, when I was having a hard time standing up straight and doing the simplest of chores,...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

The Radical Benefits of Kindness

All acts of kindness, big or small, can undoubtedly provide some real value to the recipients of those acts, but maybe at the end of the day, they can provide something more important for those with a paintbrush, a drill or saw in their hands: a chance to get out of their own heads for...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Dear Dad

Dear Dad, Working now daily with people--many at the end of their lives--I am well aware that too often we don't say the most important things that we carry in our hearts. Here is my attempt to do so. When I was young, I often had nightmares. I remember quite distinctly you bringing me downstairs for...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

What is a Death Cafe?

Death Café is an international program intended to allow people to discuss anything related to death and dying. Someone recently forwarded an invitation for an upcoming Death Cafe. What is that, you might ask, as did I. I called the facilitator of the Raleigh-based Death Cafe, Heather Hill. Heather is a licensed funeral director at  Read more


Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Sex After 60

According to Marriage, Family, Sex Therapist Laurie Watson, unless your plumbing is broken, you can (and should) have intimate relations until you die. In this blog, she answers some questions no one wants to ask in public, but many want to know. While editing my recent interview with Raleigh-based marriage, family counselor and sex therapist  Read more


Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/



Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/



Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

For the Birds

What happened when 31-year-old Harvard Medical grad Bill Thomas became medical director of a nursing home, where he brought in pets, birds, and gardens? You might be surprised! Like my father, and his father before him, I’m an early riser. With three teenagers in the house, I love starting the day when the house is still...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Changing Your Story

It's a good reminder that as we age, our need for friendships and relationships doesn't go dormant. If anything, now that we are less rushed with work and family and the busy-ness of life, we might need and crave community even more. As C.S. Lewis once said, "You can't go back and change the beginning, but...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/



Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Super Senior Bob Ross

Meet Super Senior Bob Ross, who at 92, still maintains a busy social schedule and chalks up his longevity to good genes, good friends and family, and daily exercise. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and was gesturing while telling a group of six ladies around a small table in the lobby that...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Slow Down

A daily mindfulness practice is associated with decreased anxiety and depression, improved management of chronic pain (especially for those for whom nothing else has worked), Improved cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, improved emotion regulation and many other benefits. “Turn here,” my mom said after I, in an irritated voice said, “Which way?” Fifteen years ago, when we...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Do Something Different

Doing something different doesn't only feel good, it's good for your brain, too--especially as we age. This morning, while driving my youngest daughter’s carpool, I dropped Sarah and Hannah off, then followed my usual route home. Two blocks from home, I remembered that I had intended to go west on Hillsborough to the Kinko’s, rather than...
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

It’s Never to Late to Date

People assume they're too old to start over with a new person. That is not necessarily true. Matchmaker Kate Freiman-Fox answers your common questions. There's the perception that after a certain age, we’re too old to imagine meeting someone new, much less start dating. "I am a widow and 70. Me? Date?" a neighbor recently said....
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Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/