What is your role at Aging Wisdom?
Our homes and our communities play important roles in our overall health, happiness, and independence. In a recent AARP Home and Community Preferences Survey, 75 percent of adults over age 50 expressed a preference to remain in their current home as long as possible—what is commonly referred to as “aging in place.”
What is aging in place? It is the ability to live in the place you call home and, in your community, independently and safely, as you age. …
Being active is one of the best ways to improve and support overall physical and mental health, mobility, independence, and mood. It is also a wonderful way to make meaningful social connections, and being active outdoors provides extra benefits. …
Do you dream about simplifying your life? Wish you could spend less time on to-dos and more time engaged in new interests? An independent living community might represent that dream come true. Consider these perks: home maintenance and landscaping cared for, meals prepared, and plentiful opportunities for socializing. …
What is your role at Aging Wisdom?
Director of Learning Innovation
What made you want to work in the field of aging? …
The foundation of Aging Wisdom’s Creative Engagement program is person-centered care, which is built with core values of purpose, respect, and exquisite listening1.
If you are a caregiver, a great start to person-centered care is centering yourself first. You’ve probably heard that caregivers need to take care of themselves to care well for their loved one. And it is true! By clearing your head before focusing on the person in your care and an activity, you are better equipped to meet them where they are and show greater patience. You can do this with a brief walk, a brisk dance to a favorite song, or intentional breathing. …
Over the Christmas holiday, the mom of one of my good friends gave $10,000 to a phone scammer. Earlier that month, I visited a Rotary meeting and one of their members shared that he had just been scammed by a call he thought was his bank. Last week, I heard from a prospective client that her sister had just given her entire savings away to an internet scammer.
What all three of these people have in common is that they are all in their 70’s, vibrant, active, and engaged in their lives. We typically think of victims of scams as being “vulnerable” and isolated. Yet scammers have gotten so skilled, they are forcing us to re-think who is vulnerable to being scammed. These days, we are all at risk.
Internet and phone scams are on the rise and will only continue to increase over time as scammers continue to refine their skill and gain continued success. No one is immune and scammers target all ages. However, “the people losing money are disproportionately sixty and older, with those eighty and older losing most of all,” states M.T. Connolly, attorney, author, and leading national expert on elder justice (Connolly, The Measure of Our Age, 106). …
Taking care of your financial future means more than just meeting with an investment advisor. What if the unexpected happens? For example, you get into an accident: How will you make sure your bills are paid and your assets protected? That’s where a “financial power of attorney” comes in.
A financial power of attorney is a legal document that you prepare to authorize someone to handle financial transactions on your behalf. This person is called your “agent” or “proxy,” though sometimes they are also referred to as your “power of attorney.” …
What is your role at Aging Wisdom?
I am a Creative Engagement Specialist.
What made you want to work in the field of aging?
Growing up I was surrounded by elders. As a young child, I would accompany my mother when she would go to visit elderly friends and family. Little did I know at the time how that experience would leave a lasting impression on me. …
Making wise decisions is more than just being smart. It also comprises the qualities of flexibility, calm, selflessness, and social insight. Difficult to describe, but you know it when you see it.
And who doesn’t want to be wiser? Wisdom allows us to solve complicated problems in a way that leads to gracious outcomes. It reduces stress and builds positive relationships and esteem.
Contrary to what many assume, wisdom doesn’t come automatically with age, although circumstances of aging can lead you there. …