Friday was patio lunch in my neighbourhood. Homemade pizza, caesar salad, and ice cream in sugar cones. Even though the weather was too cold and windy to have it on the patio, the eight residents who joined me in the lounge for lunch had a great time. So did I. These lunches are labour intensive,

When I was about 14, I went to camp. It wasn’t my first time, and I absolutely loved it, as I had the years I’d gone before. At camp, I discovered this suburban girl had a country heart, and was totally at home with growing things. I was in a cabin with seven other girls,

What makes life worth living? (If you answered “coffee in the morning” I’m with you on that, but we’re going a little deeper here.) What are the essential elements that make you feel complete, fulfilled, contented, whole? Guess what? They don’t change if you are elderly, or have dementia. The Eden Alternative identifies seven domains

How do you treat your friends? I like to think I am a good friend, but in thinking about the relationships I have, every one is different. I can talk about fart jokes with one friend and not another.  One friend and I knit together, another takes me shopping (literally takes me by the hand

Can you hear the violins playing in the background? I’m going to ask one of those sappy questions, so be prepared. Are you ready? What is a friend? (Yes, I hear those groans…) A friend is someone you want to spend time with. Someone you can laugh with, and cry with. Someone you can trust

I received so many gifts today. Outside our lounge at work is a lovely patio, but like any garden, it needs work. Two tables full of inside plants needed to go outside, weeds and other winter debris had to be moved from the planters and the soil made ready for the colourful annuals I can’t

Have you ever been searching for a word and it eludes you?You know it. It hovers at the fringes of your consciousness, but you can’t bring it forward. You substitute a lesser word, and feel frustrated because it doesn’t say what you want. That night, at 2:00 a.m., you wake to go to the bathroom,

“I’d never put my mother in a home.” I’ve heard these words many times, usually said in a sanctimonious, slightly patronising tone. The implication is, “I’m better than that. I value my mother (father, other family member) more than those who make this choice.” In many cultures, home is the only choice. Elders are revered,

Today you are seven, and as Grandmas do, my mind drifts back to the beginning, ahead to the future and places in between. The day we first heard that you were on the way, your Grandpa and I were feeling so many things. I remember him looking at me with a startled look, and saying,

The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practise at age 90. “Because I think I’m making progress,” he replied. 1 Here’s a radical, outside-the-box thought. Growth is possible until the end of life. It is possible, in fact, desirable, for people to grow as people until they die. They can have