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Why You Should Take A Nap
One of my daughters sleeps on a buckwheat husk pillow; the other sprays her bedroom with lavender when she turns out the light. One friend packs up her white noise sleep machine whenever she travels;...
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Baby Boomer TV Quiz
The modern miracle of television gained popularity during the nascent days of the Baby Boomer Era, and it wasn’t very long before there was a TV set in every home. Playing outside for hours on end was...
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Am I too old to learn a language at 50?… Of course not!
There is scientific evidence that shows how the young brain is more able to soak up a new language –which makes sense considering we all need to learn to communicate when we’re young. When we get...
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A Beatles Quiz For Boomers
It’s been 50 years since the Beatles first came to America, but even if you’re 64, their songs are probably as fresh in your mind as they were when you first heard them. Don’t believe me? Just take...
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Prevent Alzheimer’s: Read This Book!
I don’t know if I’m going to get Alzheimer’s, but know I don‘t want to. That’s why I just read “100 Simple Things You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer’s“ by medical journalist Jean Carper. Doing simple...
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5 Life Lessons From Wise Women
New York Times columnist, David Brooks, asked persons over the age of 70 to send him a brief report “…on your life so far, an evaluation of what you did well, of what you did not do so well and what...
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Do You Want To Know If You Have The Alzheimer’s Gene?: Part 2
This piece is the second in a series. To read the first, click here. The last in the series will be published on Wednesday, Sept. 4. This piece was originally published in The Davis Enterprise....
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Doorway To The Divine
A few years ago, my husband and I prepared to meet other family members and friends at the Pacific Bay Resort, a vacation retreat located in northwest Panama. Since then, we have been yearly visitors,...
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Candy Crush Found To Cure Insomnia
I finally got past level 65, and I’m still sleeping like a baby A friend asked me the other day what I was reading, and I gave her a blank look. “Uh, I don’t know.” “What? You can’t remember?”...
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Learning Piano At Midlife
Twelve years ago, a casual elevator conversation with my neighbor led me to consider the absurd notion of learning classical piano at the age of 45. Like me, she had opted out from a full time...
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Power Napping For Energy
This Spring/Summer has come on with a blast. We have been catapulted from the couch to the tennis courts, from the kitchen to the grill and from warm red wines to crispy whites. We are off stationary...
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Embracing Insomnia
Family rumor has it that in 1972 my precocious 17-year-old cousin was filling out her college applications, and to the question, “what do you see yourself doing in 10 years?” she bravely answered:...
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I Partied With a Porn Star
“I partied with a porn star last Saturday,” my co-worker Cat confided during a lull at the circulation desk in the suburban library where we work. I’m 60. Cat is 30. Despite the age gap, we’re...
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Dad, Disappearing
Yesterday my father tried to eat a small purple flower. When I quickly said, “No, Dad. That’s a flower, it’s not to eat,” he looked puzzled and reluctantly pulled his hand back from the planter....
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Fixated On Your Phone?
The other day I saw two teenage girls sitting on a park bench, staring at their phones. A small dog was sitting in front of them wagging his tail, desperately trying to get their attention. Still...
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How Hard Could It Be To Learn A New Language After 50?
Last week I took my first Spanish lesson. Apparently, I am as qualified today as I was at my last language lesson almost 40 years ago. Surely, when I travel to Costa Rica this winter, I’ll be able to...
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Mom, You Are Such A Loser
This morning I flossed my top teeth, then the bottom. And when I was done with the bottom, I couldn’t remember if I’d flossed the top. I actually had to stand there a minute to see if the top teeth...
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How I Finally Quieted My Mind
My eyebrows need a good tweezing, my hair is a tangled mess of curls, and I haven’t even thought about makeup. I’ve been wearing the same shorts for the past four days. I haven’t been to the gym....
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Surviving Our Son’s Teenage Suicide
The doctor’s diagnosis: A broken heart. Yes, that’s what is ailing me today; causing pain so deep it seems to be the only thing anchoring me to Planet Earth. The proximate cause: a late afternoon text...
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Coming To Terms With My Mother’s Mental Illness
photo credit: Theresa St. John I remember finding my mom and dad together on the kitchen floor. I had run up from my house, which stood right down the hill from the home I grew up in. His wails had...
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