- Terry BallantyneMind Your EldersApril 20, 2015I’m getting some pushback about the term Olderhood. “Why not Elderhood” “Why or Seniorhood” I am asked. “I don’t want to be old.” they tell me. I called it Olderhood because everyone is older than someone. First graders hold sway over kindergarden kids. High school kids disdain the junior high group. Seniors are the elders to the Freshman class. As we move through life we are getting older, and this column is not directed solely at the 80+ crowd. There are things of interest hopefully...
- Terry BallantyneStuck about making the big move to a smaller house?March 30, 2015You know it's time, you want to want to do this , but you're stuck. This is a big deal. It's the outward expression of your inner acceptance that you are, well, moving on in life. Looking carefully at the quality of your daily life. No deferments, no 'wait till later', no 'I'll get around to it'. If you want to do anything different, you sense, like a bird anticipating winter, that you better fly. Everyone is getting the message. Take only what you need. Resources...
- Terry BallantyneWhen Moving Forward is Really Really HardFebruary 13, 2015For the person selling the family home in their 70s, 80s, or 90s, it represents so much more than a change of residence. And this group has a limited voice and not much say over what happens when adult children step in to be "practical" or "realistic". It is rather like looking at the folks who endured the dust bowl phenomenon in Oklahoma. "Why didn't they just leave?" Why endure that horrific dust and wind and loss and devastation year after year? Because it was...
- Terry BallantyneChanging The ConversationFebruary 11, 2015As we navigate the norms, and push against the complacency born of ignorance, exhaustion and isolation, we are slowly forging a new path through end of life issues. We must challenge all of it, the doctors, the funeral homes, Medicare, our families, the popular culture. Our death, and our bodies are ours alone and we need to be proactive in how it goes down. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/…/know-the-hard-choices-pro…/…