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.

Thinking About Cancer: Other People’s Stories

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

I recently posted about my cancer diagnosis. I am scheduled to have a radical prostatectomy next month, that being one of the treatment options available for prostate cancer. Deciding to have the surgery made me aware of things to which … Continue reading →

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Thinking About Cancer

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

As we age, our bodies tend to buck and sputter on occasions when they used to run smoothly. Joints ache, as do muscles after modest exertion. We can’t run as fast as we used to, or can’t run at all. … Continue reading →

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Cheat Days

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

As 2017 approaches, it’s natural to think about things we would like to change in the new year. In other words, we think of ways to improve ourselves. Many plans for self-improvement require long-term self-control. Losing weight, for example, may … Continue reading →

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Identity, Purpose, and Belonging in Retirement

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

Older workers preparing for retirement (or those, like me, part way through the process)  deal not only with logistics and practical questions, but also with questions regarding how to live our lives. Three sets of issues that retirees face–issues of … Continue reading →

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Caregiving: Imperfections and Opportunities

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

I recently read an article by Next Avenue writer Chris Hewitt about Bob Morris’ book Bobby Wonderful: An Imperfect Son Buries His Parents. The book is an account of Morris’ involvement with his elderly parents towards the end of their … Continue reading →

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Regret

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

I have written before about regret, that dreadful emotion that drones on like a mosquito in the room when you’re trying to sleep. Anyone over the age of about five knows the feeling, but those of us who are in … Continue reading →

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The Benefit of Almost Dying

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

Within the course of a couple days I had conversations with two people who had nearly died recently. Each of them was hospitalized in critical condition, and in each case family members were summoned because the patient was more likely … Continue reading →

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“Sit In Your Cell As In Paradise”

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

I recently ran across the Brief Rule of the Camaldolese order, part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities. The first Camaldolese community was established by St. Romuald, an Italian monk, about a thousand years ago.  I was particularly struck … Continue reading →

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When Your Adult Child Won’t Talk to You

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

“What to do when your grown child won’t talk to you?” asked a recent article at Next Avenue. The author, Jill Smolowe, states that she takes the following approach to close relationships: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve … Continue reading →

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Lessons from a 93 Year Old

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

Originally posted on BeautyBeyondBones:
I had one of those experiences last night that’s going to stick with me for a long time. Sunday night. 7:30pm. And I was going to a church I had never been to. I moseyed in…

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