Tag Archives: aging

Being Old-Old and Life Stages

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve written some about the changes that have taken place for me since deciding that I was not just old but ‘old-old’, at a point where I am not likely to have many more years of health and vitality. My … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Contemplation and Attention

Posted on August 14, 2025 by Bob Ritzema

After turning 50, prominent psychiatrist Gerald G. May started to take solitary camping trips to wilderness areas, attempting to become more connected with nature (including his own nature). His book The Wisdom of the Wilderness: Experiencing the Healing Power of … Continue reading →

Posted in Body, Psyche, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Being Old-Old: Relationships

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve been thinking and writing about my realization that I’m not just old, but more advanced in years than what it takes to be considered old, a status I’ve called “being old-old.” I continue to think about what is changing … Continue reading →

Posted in Relationships | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Being Old-Old: Time

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Bob Ritzema

I recently posted about being “old-old,” not just old but at an age where I’m not likely to have many more years of health and vitality. In that post, I described how my sense of history had changed. I’ve had … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Traveling While Old-Old

Posted on January 13, 2025 by Bob Ritzema

The last thing I posted on this site was a reflection on turning 76. I wrote: “That somehow seems much older than 75. I’m not sure what the difference is. Maybe it’s that 80 looms closer, and that landmark seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Psyche | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Seventy-Six

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Bob Ritzema

Age is just a number, or so they say. There’s of course more to it than that. Age is the product of one’s mind and body being subjected to innumerable influences, some beneficial and some detrimental. There’s actual changing, not … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Not-At-Homeness

Posted on April 16, 2024 by Bob Ritzema

In his book “On the Road With St. Augustine,” James K.A. Smith writes about the not-at-homeness (a translation of Heidegger’s term Unheimlich) that is a familiar part of the human condition. It’s a “sense of frustration, futility, of never arriving, … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Psyche | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

When Parents Die, Who Do They Become?

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Bob Ritzema

Ed (not his real name), who lives with me at Barnabas House, just lost his father. His mother died a few years ago.  His dad was 92 years old and under hospice care. Ed’s relationship with his dad was very … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Relationships, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

A Year in Review, Part Two

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Bob Ritzema

Recently, I posted some thoughts about the past year. Life changed quite a bit during 2023, with a move from Michigan to Wisconsin, going from living alone to living in a communal setting, and from living in a different state … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche, Spirit | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

A Year in Review

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Bob Ritzema

A year ago I was living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, packing up in preparation for moving to Milwaukee. I had been there for ten years, ever since I came north to help my parents, and I had formed many attachments. … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche, Relationships | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments