Tag Archives: seniors

The Disposable Elderly

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Bob Ritzema

Are you prejudiced against the elderly? Am I? We both would probably deny it. Our actual attitudes, though, would probably be revealed better by what we do than by what we say. Views of the elderly in America have always … Continue reading →

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The Changed Lines of Generational Power

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Bob Ritzema

I have been reading Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, who is a surgeon, a staff writer for the New Yorker, and a Harvard Professor. He’s a busy guy! His book explores how medical advances have changed aging and death, not … Continue reading →

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Practicing Contemplation While in a Crowd

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve been trying to develop a more contemplative life, using Thomas Merton’s New Seeds of Contemplation as my primary guide. I’ve written some about aspects of this journey, such as in this post about the solitude I found in a simple … Continue reading →

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Caregiver Vigilance

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote in September about my 91-year-old mom’s fall and subsequent hospitalization. She suffered two compression fractures in her back, causing her a good deal of pain and significantly limiting her ability to do things for herself. After she left … 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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Physical Simplification, Part 2: Performance

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I have been writing about physical simplification in later adulthood. According to Lewis Joseph Sherrill, to simplify physically is to accept the changes that occur in our bodies as we age, focusing on those physical features that are most important … Continue reading →

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Midlife Complexity to Late Life Simplicity

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote in an earlier post that the main psychological challenge of late adulthood is simplification. In middle adulthood, many of us had more complexity in our lives than we had ever had before. At work we took on more responsibility … Continue reading →

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I Went to a Concert by Myself. So Can You.

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Last month I went to a baroque music concert by myself. I’m not dating or married to anyone, and trying to find someone to go with me seemed too much trouble. The Grand Rapids Symphony did a marvelous job, as … Continue reading →

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Retirement Leisure vs. Sabbath Rest

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote a few months ago about leisure in retirement, suggesting that one benefit of leisure is to remind us that the value of human life isn’t measured solely by the yardstick of productivity. In this post, I will compare leisure with something else that involves … 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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