Musings
About retirement… and random other things!
These blogs first appear as weekly columns in the Red Deer Advocate
Aging well all life long
The course of a person’s whole life determines healthy aging outcomes, not only the things that happen in older age. Makes perfect sense, but now the concept is supported by a ream of data which was part of a summer newsletter from RTOERO (formerly the Retired Teachers of Ontario). The group held a Future of Aging Summit in Toronto last month,...
Lost and Found
I am navigationally challenged and have been my entire life. The first time I was allowed to take the bus to my gramma’s by myself, I needed to transfer to a route going to Calgary’s southwest. Me and Mom practised this and I thought I had memorized it adequately, but I needed to phone her later to confess I was lost in the city’s northwest. Yup...
The long arm of the law
The long arm of the law seems to have wrapped itself firmly around my shoulders this summer. You may recall me writing (okay, possibly complaining) a few columns ago about getting two speeding tickets in exactly the same spot two weeks apart. Well, I promptly paid the first one and then figured I would wait until a bit closer to the cut-off date...
Back to school rituals
This is the week when kids are turning the corner from summer freedom to school routines. Parents are trying to break the habits of late nights, uncombed hair and spontaneous shenanigans, as they attempt to set the tone for the business at hand. So many common rituals mark this time of year – first day of school outfits have been purchased,...
Time to try something new!
Many people’s mindset runs on the school calendar instead of the regular calendar. This is the time of year when kids are going back to school, the peak vacation season draws to a close and the falling leaves remind you the times they are a changing. If you’re retired, especially newly retired like I am, you might be feeling a bit left out right...
My Gramma – an Alberta Pioneer
Jack Windle tied the leather straps of his boots and hoisted a rifle over his shoulder. It was time for the winter kill and Jack was on his way to help his neighbours butcher three of their pigs and salt the meat to preserve it for winter storage. Eventually freezers would be invented, but in 1899 the salting method was most effective. Jack’s...
Choosing a place of rest
When I was visiting my friend earlier this spring, she told me she had just coordinated all the logistics around her and her husband’s gravesite. They had purchased a plot for their final resting place and did I want to drive over to take a look? Well, it wasn’t the sort of activity we typically imbibe in when we’re together and I was taken aback...
Don’t let the sun leave scars
Did you know that sunscreen has a best before date? You’d likely never know by looking at the tubes of it in your bathroom cupboard, because many don’t provide any indication of this important information. You wouldn’t eat yogurt after the expiry date, because it could make you sick. Well, speaking from a person who has had half a dozen patches...
Common sense oncology
I realize writing about death and dying is not the usual fare for this lighthearted column. But I write about life every week, of which death is an inevitable part. I have reflected a great deal, as have many of you I’m sure, on whether I will be able to focus my attention on every precious moment to guide myself and those around me on my own end...