Category filter: About our Elders > Successful Aging

I literally “run” into inspiring people all the time.  This week it was Mr. A, who at 69 years old, admits he enjoys aging.  He did quickly add, “for the most part”. I ran into Mr. A on my early morning run.  We plodded along for about 30 minutes. He runs 5 days a week… Read more…

Many people I connect with ask why I became a Gerontologist. The answer is easy: my grandmother and the influence she had on my life. Meet Me – Wendy – at nine years; a beanpole with eternally frizzy hair. I’m visiting my Nana J’s house, located just around the corner from my family home, in… Read more…

I was about six years old when I remember visiting a nursing home. That’s what my parents called Long Term Care in the 70s. Our family drove on Christmas day to visit with our elderly neighbours, the Coppers, who had move into a nursing home in North Toronto the year before. I remember consciously trying… Read more…

Yesterday, I had the lovely opportunity to connect with one of my clients over lunch. One of the greatest gifts I receive in my line of work is having the chance to share life stories, be it theirs or mine. Working with an aging population provides an appreciation to sit and think about life –… Read more…

I am an aging goddess. Well, that’s according to the Victoria Goddess Race committee. In fact, I am one of 1,000 aging goddesses who partook in the inaugural Victoria Goddess 10K run last Sunday. I thought the term “aging goddess” was much more complimentary than the reality — “slightly overweight, seven minutes slower but wiser… Read more…

“What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humour, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies.” ~Rudolph Giuliani I’ve just finished baking cookies. As I pull out the ooey-gooey tray of sinful delights, I can’t help but think of my grandmother and a rush… Read more…

“The death of an old person is like the loss of a library” – African Proverb This past week brought me two inspirational and very motivating experiences. First, my weekly run in the rain was suddenly filled with a burst of human sunshine when I was passed by a runner, who looked twice my age.… Read more…

I think it’s safe to say, “Death isn’t easy to deal with at any age”. So how do you explain it to your three-year-old? How do you comfort your eight-year-old when their grandparent dies? How comfortable are you with the whole concept of death? What are you beliefs regarding after-life, if any? How do you… Read more…

“I’m standing in line with my three year old and the little old lady ahead of me pulls out her change purse and dumps a thousand pennies on the counter!” “I’m at a 4-way stop and the old man across from me can barely see me through his trifocals over his steering wheel.” “My grandmother… Read more…

The first Sunday after Labour Day in September is known throughout Canada and the United States as Grandparents Day. According to Legacy Project: Grandparents Day was initiated in the early 1970s at the grassroots level by West Virginian Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade, with the behind-the-scenes support of her husband Joseph L. McQuade. They had 15… Read more…