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Showing posts from November, 2019

Seeing, feeling, believing: Why you should care about the future of older adults

You may not be one now. But you probably know an older adult. What makes them 'older'? Is there a certain threshold? I wouldn't think there should be, but by most Federal standards 65 seems to be the number that sticks. As we age our bodies change. The processes of renewal slow, our minds begin to wander, and sometimes the abilities of our neurons to connect fail to fire in the way they used to. I've had the honor and privilege to spend countless hours with older adults, starting when I was 17 and picked up a gig serving at the retirement home near my high school. I was brave enough to stick it out, even after all the times I brought out the wrong order, or skipped a table on accident. The seven years I spent at Meadowlark Estates were some of the most fruitful years of my life because I never felt like I had a shortage of family support. Over servings of oatmeal, shepherd's pie, and sugar-free vanilla ice cream, I got to know those residents better than mos...