‘Bratsky’ Part 2
Several months ago, I described the joys and struggles of a couple of seniors adopting a puppy. She joined our household of three seniors…
Grey Matters
The Gift of Storytelling
In January, I turned over a new leaf … more accurately, a new page! I’m planning to spend more time on writing.
Choices
Making so many choices every day can be stressful. Sometimes it causes me to lose track of the big picture.
Becoming Age-Friendly
One of the marvelous things about knowledge is how so many people are willing to share it freely so that others can learn.
What’s Your Attitude Toward Aging?
Are you “middle-aged” or “retirement age,” or of “old age?” Do you bristle at being asked those questions? Are you avoiding answering them?
Ritual and Ceremony
In my world, ceremonies are a regular thing. I have the honour of leading the people of Whitehorse United Church in worship.
Puppy Mayhem, Puppy Love
About 18 months ago, my husband and I were having a peaceful morning coffee together, chatting about various household issues. Our then eight-year-old black Lab (Sula) was asleep on one end of the sofa—her preferred napping spot. Suddenly my husband said, “If I die before you and you are left on your own, would you like to have a dog for company? I know that I would.” When I said “Yes” (tentatively), he immediately embarked on a search to find a black Lab puppy whose life would overlap with Sula’s.
Long Live the Dandelion
I saw my first dandelion of the season early this month, and it absolutely made my day. I love dandelions.
Grey Matters: Betwixt and Between
Emerging from COVID restrictions, & the dark cold of winter. What will you do to transition to the next phase of your life?
Are the trees weeping?
I grew up in Canadian Shield country. Rocks were what I noticed and loved. A few kilometres north were remnants of the boreal forest,
Small Graces Can be Hard to Find, but Should always be Celebrated
This March I’ve decided that instead of my usual grumpiness about the wind and the cold, I’d try to stay focused on the “small graces”
Grey Matters: Valentines delivered
Who’s whining? Never! Well … friends and family have brightened my day. There are lots of valentines that go out.
Grey Matters: Christmas memories
I’ve just finished “taking down Christmas” for another year. I love the ritual; the small, silent, solitary ceremony of this dismantling.
Grey Matters: Reflections on time
I’m convinced time is speeding up. I remember being told “coming soon! Those things weren’t “soon” Now, at 72, everything comes much sooner
Grey Matters: Grip and gripes
I’m coming to grips with how bad my grip is. Some things that have gotten better with time, my ability to tolerate my arthritis has not.
Grey Matters: Age-friendly outdoors
“Mr. Spock,” my 1998 camper van (pure luxury) is put to bed. My old arthritic bones will no longer take sleeping on the cold, hard ground.
Old Boler, older bones
The Boler trailer was built in Manitoba around 1973. It’s not as old as my old bones, for sure, but there are a number of similarities.
Springing forth
Lately there’s been a lot of media coverage about “languishing” and people experiencing stress due to COVID-19 restrictions. I hate to admit it, but I think I have finally succumbed to COVID burnout.
Pollyanna-ing the pandemic
What I’m writing about in this column are the benefits and blessings of technology that I’ve discovered in the last year.
How shall I then live?
Both my husband and I have received two shots of COVID-19 vaccine. Now what? I think that is a question that many of us are asking and I would like to believe that I might have some thoughts on how to answer it.
Of time and tech
I thought that as I aged, and if my eyesight couldn’t be fixed by cataract surgery, it would be good to be able to do more things by voice and by ear.
Senior versus Snowmageddon
This is not a “fish tale.” I heard accounts of snowfall beyond normal, but there was “factual” info to confirm the enormity of the situation
Light and reflections
Have you managed to adjust to the shortened daylight hours? In our family, we have our own tradition of a solstice fire on Dec. 21. It is a time to reflect on the past year, burn away the old and make wishes for the new.
The simple pleasure of hanging laundry
Of all the things I miss each year as the summer spills over into autumn, the one I hang on to the longest, and feel most wistful letting go, is laundry. More specifically, hanging clothes outside in the sun.
Getting closer to the end
Let’s face it–being a senior means being closer to the end. That is, we are closer to death. When I was born, life expectancy for a Canadian male was 72 years. Now it’s 80. Medical science is forever making advances that push those boundaries and will challenge the inevitability of death. However, in 2020, to …
Old dog, new tricks
Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective of Agatha Christie’s novels, said “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” I was a bit surprised recently, to find that I can indeed learn new things even when I feel like an old dog. When I retired, the little grey cells were feeling stagnant (I’d love to …
Bubbles
Looking back, I did not know how important bubbles would become in my life. As a child I have no recollection of blowing bubbles.
Dandelions and rituals
It all started with a dandelion. Funny how small things can make a difference.
And funny too how, when I have time, I can actually realize that.
Sticking together, even when you’re not
A kidney for the giving. I was semi-retired, had the time and, I hoped, the health. I figured why not try to help out?
A lifetime of music
It may be an exaggeration to say that Kermit the Frog saved my life, but only slightly. It was 1971. I was 17. The Beatles sang “The Long and Winding Road” and I was deep in the swamp of solipsistic angst in the way that only teenagers can be. “Last night I was a girl …
The big rock
When I began to walk my dog this morning, I noticed that she had a slight limp and was favouring her right front leg. I thought that it would be better to stay on the level trail and have a somewhat shorter walk than usual. We would only go as far as the big rock. …
Online connections
In the old days–good or otherwise–interpersonal connections were via letter or phone or face-to-face. Now there are any number of interactions that can take place online and can lead to connections with real people. For example, Facebook, where you can use your trigger finger to like what you see. You may get a momentary buzz of …
Turning seventy
I turned 70 this year. I’m pondering what this means. At 55 and 60, various senior discounts kicked in and it seemed kind of fun. At 65, there is no doubt that one officially becomes a senior with Old Age Security, Pharmacare, Homeowners and Pioneer Utility grants. But what about 70? A compulsory Driver’s Medical? …
Ready, Set, Howl will visit Whitehorse for a show on Oct 10
Norman Mervyn Barrington-Foote is bringing his own unique combination of music, comedy and puppetry to Whitehorse for a Halloween-themed show on Oct. 10, 2019 at the Yukon Arts Centre. Music, costumes and Halloween are all part of Ready, Set, Howl.
Moving toward age-friendly communities
Face it–the baby boomers are aging. Are Whitehorse and other Yukon communities ready for the growing aging population? Oct. 1 is the International Day of Older Persons, the theme of which is ”The Journey to Age Equality.” This theme reflects the need to support and promote the active participation of older persons in the social, …
Aging with grace
When I accepted the call to become the ordained minister at Whitehorse United Church, I was living in rural New Brunswick. That was 10 years ago, in 2009. It may be a function of my age that it seems, in some ways, like yesterday. All the feelings associated with that decision are still quite fresh …
Edmonton Eskimo fan-atic
My dad became a season ticket holder for the Edmonton Eskimos (EE) in 1959. I cannot say when he first became a loyal Eskimos fan, but I can tell you that the association of my father with the EE was indelibly imprinted upon the hearts of all those who attended his memorial service in 1981. …
Confessions of an exercise hater
Deborah needs to convince her “inner brat” to do more exercise than just light weights at home My inner brat just won’t listen. Some people are blessed with an inner prince or princess, but I am saddled with a brat, verging on a rebel. The adult me tells the inner brat about the benefits and …
The joys and dangers of taking a risk
A few weeks ago, a friend sent me an opinion piece from a recent edition of The Globe and Mail. It was about falls. Not the waterfall kind. The kind that involves finding oneself suddenly on the ground or on the floor. It was written by Sandra Martin and entitled “A Senior’s Resolution: No More …
A good time for death cleaning
Seventy years of accumulation of stuff—that’s what I have in addition to my husband’s “resource,” as he so fondly calls his stuff. Somehow the amount of stuff we collected over 47 years of living together seems to fill our living and outdoor space. We have a small two-bedroom house, plus a cabin, large workshop, sea …
The reluctant senior citizen
When I was first asked if I wanted to join the talented group of writers at What’s Up Yukon and contribute a column that would provide a perspective as a male “senior,” I thought, “I don’t know. I don’t feel like a senior. I don’t even like to admit that I am a senior.” These …
Bridge too far
It began innocently enough. At a gathering shortly after I stopped working, I overheard a friend mentioning that another friend had said she was going to learn bridge in order to have something to do in the nursing home.
Mother is coming
This is a phrase I have said, myself, as I rolled my eyes. We have all read stories and watched sitcoms where adult children are saying this to their friends, clearly intimating that the upcoming visit will be difficult. And it always was, when my mother came to visit. But now the shoe is …
In ‘the Zone’ – Taking each day as it comes …
I turned 70 this past summer. I’ve been pondering, How did I get there so soon? So what’s your stereotype of a 70-year-old “lady”? Grey hair? Yep, that’s me, and I earned every one! Wrinkles and brown splotches? Yes, plenty! A cane? Actually, walking sticks for long walks! Sitting in a rocking chair, all day, …
Woodsmoke
I’ve always loved the smell of woodsmoke. I know this is not the case for everyone and that too many wood stoves in a small residential area can cause concern. I am lucky to live in a part of town where few people heat with wood. These days, my woodsmoke saga begins in late August, …
Ode to Nellie
If you have a glass or cup of something handy, get it ready. At the end of this piece we’re going to raise a glass to a woman named Nellie. You might want to get a handful of penny candy too … you’ll see why. Nellie and her husband (whose first name I never knew) …
Youth is a gift; age is an art
The phrase I want to use as a mantra is “Age is an art.” It’s part of the saying, “Youth is a gift, age is an art,” printed on a button that I gave my grandmother many years ago.
Seniors on speed
What 69-year-old chooses an activity that routinely results in numb hands, painful wrists and soreness in an area that makes it difficult to perform certain necessary bodily functions? Well, it turns out that there are quite a number of these folks in the Yukon.
