Tag Archives: aging

Generativity

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Generativity is a quality that psychoanalyst Erik Erikson associated with a healthy middle adulthood. Erikson thought that around midlife it is common to develop an interest in doing something that will outlast oneself. Earlier in adulthood, most of us focus on … Continue reading →

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Adaptation at the Movies

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I recently wrote a reflection on Birdman, the Michael Keaton film about an actor who played a superhero in the ’90s and now is trying to resurrect his career by staging a play. I described the “Birdman” voice that only Riggan, … Continue reading →

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Dad, Descartes, and Dementia

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

My dad’s dementia worsened over the course of several years. It was quite disturbing to see his memory loss, confusion, difficulty expressing himself, and inability to perform even simple tasks. The changes in him raised questions for me, questions which I … Continue reading →

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Grief and Spirituality After Midlife

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

In previous posts at Life Assays and Olderhood.com, I wrote about the cover story in the Atlantic that describes the “happiness U-curve,” the finding that happiness decreases in the decades of early adulthood, reaches a low in midlife, and increases … Continue reading →

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Midlife Grief, Late Life Happiness

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote earlier in my other blog about the cover story of the December, 2014 Atlantic on happiness in midlife. Jonathan Rauch, the author of the article, describes the “happiness U-curve,” a graph of data from numerous studies showing a … Continue reading →

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Adaptation

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

In Spike Jonze’s movie Adaptation, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Nicholas Cage) struggles in his effort to adapt The Orchid Thief into a film. Part of the problem is the book—it’s lacking a usable storyline. But much of the problem is with Charlie himself, … Continue reading →

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No One Writes to the Colonel–And That’s a Bad Thing

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

I recently wrote some thoughts about a movie on my other blog, Life Assays. The movie is quite pertinent to older adulthood, so I’m re-posting my comments here. When I was in North Carolina recently, I saw a movie sponsored by … Continue reading →

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Olderhood.com

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

I recently became a contributing writer for olderhood.com. I’ve been following their blog for some time, and have found that their contributors offer interesting perspectives on aging and retirement. Bill Storie, the founder, is of Scottish origin but lives in Bermuda, … Continue reading →

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Healthy Aging

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

Some time ago I wrote a post about George Vaillant and the Harvard Study of Adult Development. I’ve since read Aging Well, Vaillant’s 2002 book in which he drew conclusions from the Harvard Htudy up to that point. In what … Continue reading →

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Are Elderly Parents an Emotional Weight for Their Children?

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

I recently wrote about medical ethicist Ezekiel Emanuel’s Atlantic article explaining why he doesn’t want to live past age 75. I left off without having discussed one of his contentions, that living a long time can have a negative impact on … Continue reading →

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