Tag Archives: elderly

The Down Side of Generativity

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Last October, the New Yorker published an article about the biggest hedge fund scandal of all time. The scandal involved insider trading by billionaire hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen and his fund, S.A.C. Capital Advisors. In 2008, a clinical … Continue reading →

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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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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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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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Hoping to Die at 75?

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

The October, 2014 Atlantic considers the prospect of average lifespans reaching 100—I wrote about that possibility here. In the same issue there is an article by Ezekiel Emmanuel titled “Why I Hope to Die at 75.” Emanuel indicates that his … Continue reading →

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Do We Become More Virtuous As We Age?

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

Do we become more virtuous as we age? Certainly there are saints among us who display more of the fruit of the Spirit with every passing year. Then there is someone like Fred Phelps, founder of Westboro Baptist Church, who … Continue reading →

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If We All Live To 100

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

The cover story for the October issue of the Atlantic is titled “What Happens When We All Live to 100?” The author, Gregg Easterbrook, notes that the “life expectancy escalator”—the increase in life expectancy among younger cohorts—has gone up about … Continue reading →

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James A. Ritzema, RIP

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

You’re never ready. My dad had heart surgery 25 years ago, carotid artery surgery 13 years ago, and memory problems for about 10 years that eventually cascaded into severe dementia. Three months ago, he reached the point where he was … Continue reading →

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More on Schweitzer and Maturity

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote earlier about a comment Albert Schweitzer made about maturity. In looking for the source of that quote, I ran across something else he had said about the topic. The first quote I had found came from when Schweitzer was … Continue reading →

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“Can You Spare Me a Dime?” Getting Ready For the Journey.

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Bob Ritzema

My mom and I were my dad’s primary caregivers as dementia gradually chewed at his mind. I helped them in their home for almost two years, until, at last, my mother made the difficult decision to have dad admitted to … Continue reading →

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