This blog presents the ideas and creative thinking of some of Utah's talented older adult writers. Their submissions are to inform and entertain, not to present policy or opinion positions of the Utah Commission on Aging. Enjoy.
If you’re retired or looking forward to the time when you will be, you’ve probably said there are things you want to do “while I still have my health.” I’ve been retired for almost 12 years, and I’m still saying it. However, I recently learned that “We don’t know what we don’t know” can apply to the degree of physical health and stamina we still have, as well as to our mental abilities, especially when it comes to international travel.
There’s no shortage of positive thinking theories out there, but the one that has resonated with me comes from—no surprise—Brian Clark’s newsletter Further. In his July 6 newsletter, he writes “Positive beliefs can spark a placebo effect that helps us succeed. Conversely, negative beliefs and the accompanying thoughts can keep us “in our heads” and away from a state of optimal performance.”
I spend too much time on my computer. My wife tells me that and she’s right. As a freelance writer, I have to use my computer to get my work done. I choose to do more than half of it in a coffee shop. I don’t like sitting at home, either in my office or at the kitchen table, which is next to a picture window that affords me a view of the entire Salt Lake Valley.
I wasn’t with him when my husband, Dennis, passed away at 12:10 a.m. on May 2, 2021. I got the news on my cell phone. I heard about my father’s passing in the same way, so I knew what I had to do. I dressed quickly and drove to the memory care facility where he had been for only eight days.
On the calendar, it says July 4th is Independence Day. To me, every day is a day to celebrate our independence and freedom.