Author Archives: Bob Ritzema

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About Bob Ritzema

I am a fourth-generation American of Dutch ancestry and am trained as a clinical psychologist. In 2012, I retired from Methodist University in North Carolina to return to Michigan to help family, and, in 2023, I started again with a move to Milwaukee to be near my children. I maintain a part-time therapy practice. I can be reached at bobritzema@hotmail.com.

Parenting Adult Children: Lessons from King Lear

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

In November I saw a Calvin College production of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Intrigued, I then read the play. Lear is elderly and wishes to step aside from the burdens of ruling. He has three daughters and plans to divide his kingdom among … Continue reading →

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“Mr. Holmes”–A Reflection

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

This isn’t a review, but a reflection. The movies that intrigue me do so because they explore questions like how we should live our lives, what makes for good (and bad) relationships, and how we come to be made whole … Continue reading →

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“I Grow More Intense as I Age.”

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

In earlier posts I discussed a passage in George Eliot’s novel The Mill on the Floss in which Eliot suggested that, compared to the young, the middle-aged are “half-passionate” while the elderly are “merely contemplative,” that is, without any passion at … Continue reading →

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Friendships: Who Stays and Who Goes

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote earlier about how friendships change over the years. After our children leave home and we retire (or just work less), most of us have more time to spend with friends. When we reach that point, some of us reconnect … Continue reading →

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Older Adulthood: The Second Great Age of Passion

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote recently about a passage in George Elliot’s novel The Mill on the Floss suggesting that middle-aged adults are particularly well-equipped to assist adolescents and young adults through their times of emotional turmoil. Elliot reasons that the middle-aged are … Continue reading →

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Spiritual Simplification, or Jesus at the Door with Burgers, Fries, and a Drink

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Several months ago, I started a series of posts in response to theologian Lewis Joseph Sherrill’s contention that simplification is the primary psychological task of late adulthood. Sherrill described simplification as “distinguishing the more important from the less important, getting … Continue reading →

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Is Midlife a Time of Calm or of Turmoil?

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I ran across an interesting quote on middle age by George Eliot. She wrote: “The middle aged, who have lived through their strongest emotions, but are yet in the time when memory is still half passionate and not merely contemplative, … Continue reading →

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Update: So you’re retired, what do you do all day? by Bob Lowry

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Bob Lowry is one of my favorite bloggers on the topic of retirement. This is a nice recent post of his on the subject of how retirees spend their time. He challenges the notion that retirement is lived “on the … Continue reading →

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Simplification of Character

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve been thinking recently about the psychological task of simplification as it pertains to late life. I’m following the outline provided by twentieth-century theologian Lewis Joseph Sherrill, who says that simplification involves “distinguishing the more important from the less important, … Continue reading →

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Complicated Grief

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

There was recently an article in the New York Times about complicated grief. Virtually everyone experiences intense suffering after losing someone they are close to, but most don’t have that intense suffering continue on for over a year without lessening … Continue reading →

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