Reading Nook: Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande
When I first read Being Mortal, in 2014, I encouraged everybody within earshot to get a copy. That included our kids—I told them it offered a perspective that could be helpful now that their parents were being defined as seniors. Our son, an avid reader, noted that he and his sister didn’t need a book …
Choosing Where We Live as We Age, Part 4: Lemons and Lemonade
I thought moving would be the breeze it used to be—when we were younger, we had been pretty good at it, getting pictures hung, furniture in place, and silverware in the drawer within a week or two. In fact, I once asked Josh if he was bothered by our many moves—five while he and Ellen were …
Choosing Where We Live as We Age, Part 3: Finding Home
On my way to class at the Art Center I noticed the For Sale sign across the street. I stopped and looked over at the building that had first captured my imagination 12 years before. The little six-story midcentury modern with one entire side of windows. Hmmm, I thought. That night, I searched realtor.com, and …
Choosing Where We Live As We Age, Part 2: Assessing the Options
I love houses and often have one foot out the door, ready to try on a new one. The world is full of so many options. Our first house, which we bought right after we got married in 1970, was a modern redwood and glass, but we’ve also lived in a 100-year-old foursquare built from …
Choosing Where We Live As We Age: Stay Put, Move, or What?
My sister used to tell a joke she found hilarious, but which never seemed all that funny to me. It involved a man hiding in a closet in his lover’s bedroom when the woman’s husband comes home unexpectedly. The husband opens the closet door and asks the man what he’s doing there. “Everybody has to …
Feeling Lonely? Go to the Store and Say Hello to a Stranger
I recently completed two tiny landscape paintings and hung them next to a gargantuan abstract work that dominates the far wall of our living room. The small ones are a foot square; the large one is 4’X6’—the size of a walk-in closet. All three have strong blue accents. The room itself is full of bits …