One of It’s All About Aging’s favorite guest bloggers, Ann Mehl, is starting an exciting new workshop in February. As an executive coach and entrepreneur dealing with a mother with dementia, Ann knows firsthand what she’s teaching. For this series she’s teaming up with Angelica Perez, Ph.D., a licensed Clinical Psychologist with a specialty in geropsychology
and dementia. For those of you scratching your heads (like I did) geropsychology is the field within psychology devoted to the study of aging and the provision of clinical services for older adults. See…we’re already smarter.
Ann, in her “ample leisure”*, is also a marathon runner. She finds that a lot of her experiences with running translate into her business, and personal life. This from her most recent blog resonated with me and ties in so well with her workshop:
Get Help: The first time I signed up for a marathon, I was so worried about not finishing that I didn’t tell a soul I was running. So while there were no rallying crowds of supporters screaming, “Go, Ann!”, I did hear the occasional, “Ann? Is that you?” from puzzled friends on the sidelines. Why did I do this? I think I was terrified of failing and looking foolish in front of the people who cared about me. This is a don’t-do-what-I-did message: You may be able to handle things on your own, but you don’t have to, and you’ll likely make the going a lot harder. Invite people to support you in meeting your goal. If you can’t find a training partner (say, a friend who will encourage you to keep working on that novel), join a club (such as a writers’ group). But build yourself a small network of like-minded individuals who will support you. Good partners will hold you accountable, lend an ear, and share a fresh perspective, just when you need it most.
The workshop will be given Mondays during the month of February. Click here to order your tickets. And don’t forget to check out the first Blogging Boomers Carnival for 2010, lots of good posts to get your year off to a great start!
* as used by my former partner when you have none…
It used to be a secret summer pleasure, speeding up Madison Avenue, getting all the lights, sitting in the back seat of a cab with the windows down, in the early warmth of a summer night. Fuhghettaboutit! Now it’s usually interrupted by the incessant noise of an endless cell phone rant. You’re probably wondering what a blog about taxis has to do with aging…honestly not much, but if cab drivers keep talking on their cell phones when driving…
A friend of mine recently asked for some advice on talking to her grandmother about sex. Why, you wonder, would someone need to have that conversation with her grandmother? With the advent of drugs like Viagra, sex in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, is on the rise, most of it unprotected. Because of the rise in unprotected sex, there is a rise in STD’s among the elderly.
If you’re a golfer, you know all the frustrations inherent with the game. That awful tee shot, the rimmed putt, and then, the shot that brings you back every time (mine was on 13 yesterday), but would you ever think it was therapeutic? And for Alzheimer’s patients? Hardly likely!
Creating a website is difficult. It’s a lot like renovating a house. Takes twice as long, costs twice as much, and the punch list is endless.
Even though it’s a dreadful economy for all of us, here’s my suggestion… just skip one Grande Frappuccino at Starbucks, and donate the $5. Not only will you be giving the money to a great cause, you’ll save yourself hundreds of calories, reduce stress, and help you live longer. Win/win, right? 
The 92 year old mother of a close friend is being abused.
