Insights for the Intentional Life: Spring
Image by Delflam via Flickr Spring Brings New Insights for Life This morning I awoke to the sound of doves cooing, sun streaming in the window, and blue skies. Oh, my! How wonderful to be alive....
View ArticleOnline Starter Kit for The Conversation Project
Image by joaquinuy via Flickr Why A Starter Kit for The Conversation Project? The single greatest obstacle to having a “good death” is denial. We don’t want to know about death, and we certainly don’t...
View ArticleHastening Dying by Refusing Food and Drink
Image by tyger_lyllie via Flickr The Legal Right to Choose Hastening dying by refusing food and drink is legal. If the patient has ability to communicate this wish, he or she can do so. It is...
View ArticleOrdinary Things Turn Into Mementos
Bud Stein Some Memories Never Fade Fifty years ago this coming May 9th, after peddling my bike home from 4th grade at Burns Park Elementary School, I found my red-eyed mother sobbing in our living...
View ArticleSenior Dying Taboo: Careless Bedside Talk
Image by ndrwfgg via Flickr Here is a simple but really important piece of advise to remember when you are attending someone who is dying.. You must assume that the person can hear you even if they...
View ArticleFamily Stories from The Conversation Project
Image via ElderAuthority The Conversation Project is an online tool that helps families have the difficult discussion about end of life decisions. I have written a couple of articles about it and I...
View ArticleEnd-of-Life Information and Decisions
Image by Sharon Mollarus via Flickr End-of-Life Information and Denial I am a big fan of Living (the BIG L). I want to keep doing it as long as possible, but only as long as it makes sense. While...
View ArticleAging: Denying and Accepting Life’s Seasons
Fall in Ann Arbor by cote via Flickr Never before have I been so aware of the passage of time and the progression of the phases of life. Time races by. An integral part of aging is denying and...
View ArticleMalcolm: Sweet Boy, Grand Soul
Dog Day at Rangers Ball Park Rest In Peace Two weeks ago, I wrote that our beloved Black Lab, Malcolm, was in the hospital (see Doggie Wisdom to Live By). We got him home after three days, and...
View ArticleGrief Takes Whatever It Needs
Image by lisa cee via Flickr Unexpected Grief Grief is a multifaceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on...
View ArticleKnow the Difference Between Heir and Beneficiary
Image by Mike Babcock via Flickr Legacy Law Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan invited me to a free estate planning seminar this week, and I took the time to go. Because I now live in a different state,...
View ArticleHolding On For Dear Life
The Icy Grip of Winter by John Collins Winter and the Wish for Spring Yup. It snowed again today. Gorgeous, but it is time for something besides cold winds and icy sidewalks. We are all tired of it....
View ArticleFree Love Cost Jerry Garcia
Image by CLender via Flickr The Grateful Dead The American band, The Grateful Dead, is synonymous with a musical movement so unique that it is still celebrated today. The Grateful Dead’s commitment to...
View ArticleGreat Souls Transform Us
First Impressions I met Laura Hickman in January 1991. It was the first night of my Masters degree program in Organizational Development at American University. The program was designed for working...
View ArticlePausing to Pay Respects on Memorial Day
Arlington Cemetery via Department of Defense ElderAuthority salutes Memorial Day and those who fought and died so that we can live in peace. American Flag Waves for Memorial Day Those of us who live...
View ArticleOne Family: Two Life Celebrations
Fireworks by OliBac via Flickr Planned and Unplanned Life Celebrations Aunt Louise called us a few weeks ago to invite us to her 90th birthday party. We accepted with delight and looked forward to the...
View ArticleMork and the City of Angels
Mork by jervetson via Flickr My memory of meeting Robin Williams in Los Angeles: Mork and the City of Angels takes on new meaning. Stuck in LA For once, I wasn’t upset about being stuck out of town...
View ArticleAging: Denying and Accepting Life’s Seasons
Fall in Ann Arbor by cote via Flickr Never before have I been so aware of the passage of time and the progression of the phases of life. Time races by. An integral part of aging is denying and...
View ArticleAftermath of Our Estate Sale
Image by Andy Arthur via Flickr This posting is a continuation of two previous articles: Estate Sale Trauma and The Transience of Things. In the aftermath of our estate sale we were forced to process...
View ArticleLarry Journeys on to The Rainbow Bridge
Larry at Joslin Lake Sadly, DogWatch by Laughing Labrador founder, Larry, took his last car ride yesterday April 11th. Larry journeys on to The Rainbow Bridge where we hope to one day to all be...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....