Full of Years

If you value people who are older—and also your own aging—these entries will help you rejoice in the fullness of this stage of life: its gritty realities, secret joys, hidden spirituality and cherished moments—reasons to be grateful that old age is always a gift from God!

F

Latest Entries

February 8, 2024

Mess-makers and mess-sorters

By Bob Sitze
In Arcania, Current Events, Lifestyle, Relationships
February 8, 2024
2 Min Read
Add Comment
08February

I’m coming off a period of several weeks when digital spam-senders have been sorely afflicting me. This experience got me to thinking about two kinds of people—those who create messes and those who sort them out. In this case, the mess-creators flooded me with unrelenting torrents of unwanted information. Varieties of mess-makers invade other aspects of our lives—perhaps too many to waste ink onMORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment
February 5, 2024

Mapping the Milky Way with metaphors

By Bob Sitze
In Arcania, Current Events, Words
February 5, 2024
2 Min Read
Add Comment
05February

(Every so often I read the writing of someone whose skills bring an idea or set of facts into focus with the kind of clarity that’s both rare and awe-inspiring. Today’s entry describes a recent example.) I have to tell you about a fascinating article I read in the February 2024 edition of Scientific American. It’s about the shifting character of the Milky Way. (See the link below.) The pieceMORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment
February 1, 2024

What to do with an extra day

By Bob Sitze
In Arcania, Current Events, Lifestyle
February 1, 2024
2 Min Read
Add Comment
01February

(As a present from yesteryears’ calendar wizards, you and I will get an entire extra day in this month. Today’s entry explores some possibilities for using this gift.) February 29th is like a time-bank whose deposits we get to withdraw now—an entire day added to our lives! How might we think differently about Leap Day if we considered it as something like a bonus or added-value coupon good onlyMORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment
January 29, 2024

LIRS=Global Refuge?

By Bob Sitze
In Arcania, Current Events, Words
January 29, 2024
2 Min Read
Add Comment
29January

In a recent mailing, the folks at Global Refuge—formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service—informed us about the new name they’ve decided on. What similar name changes have purported to offer is acceptance by a wider audience or donor/client base—something potentially more diverse than a presumably diminishing church-body tag. This continuing rebranding makes me sad: NOT thatMORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment
January 25, 2024

Countering short-term memory loss

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body, Personal Power
January 25, 2024
2 Min Read
Add Comment
25January

(The Amateur Brain Scientist part of me has landed on this interesting thought: What if some of our dreaded short-term memory loss could be counteracted by some changes in our lifestyle habits or contexts? Today some noodling in that direction….) Some of us might be quietly fretting about the possibility that our short-term memory seems to be slipping. Small stuff at first—misplacingMORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment
January 22, 2024

Hope from a box

By Bob Sitze
In Arcania, Lifestyle, Soul Searchings
January 22, 2024
2 Min Read
Add Comment
22January

Sometimes you can find hope in surprising places. That happened to me one recent morning when I looked at the box that my (Family Size) Cheerios™ came in. Here’s what I learned… The good folks at General Mills—a Minneapolis-based corporation—apparently decided to do something helpful and hopeful about the state of the country/world: They partnered with Disney and Fandango to spotlight Disney’sMORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment
January 18, 2024

Micro-affirmations REVISED

By Bob Sitze
In Current Events, Personal Power, Words
January 18, 2024
2 Min Read
Add Comment
18January

(Ready to start pushing back against the haters and ranters? Something different than matching their tactics or risking their kind of eventual personal discombobulation?  Today some thoughts….) Some people try to counter the loud noises of anger addicts and those who feed them by yelling louder, bombarding them with equally-angry words or smashing-and-grabbing their well-being. This doesn’t workMORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment
January 18, 2024

Micro-affirmations

By Bob Sitze
In Current Events, Personal Power, Words
January 18, 2024
2 Min Read
Add Comment

(Ready to start pushing back against the haters and ranters? Something different than matching their tactics or risking their kind of eventual personal discombobulation?  Today some thoughts….) Some people try to counter the loud aggressions of anger addicts and those who feed them by yelling louder, bombarding them with equally-angry words or smashing-and-grabbing their well-being. This doesn’tMORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment
January 15, 2024

Imagining the next life stages IV

By Bob Sitze
In Lifestyle, Personal Power, Relationships, Soul Searchings
January 15, 2024
3 Min Read
Add Comment
15January

(Today’s blog is the last in a series of four entries that treat a matter that most older adults eventually face: How will we live well when that becomes difficult?) When the necessary preliminary work is finished, what’s left is the task of finding life-care arrangements that fit our expectations and hopes. Some are intangible—the feel of a facility, personal characteristics of likelyMORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment
January 11, 2024

Imagining the next life stages III

By Bob Sitze
In Lifestyle, Personal Power, Soul Searchings, Time
January 11, 2024
2 Min Read
Add Comment
11January

(Today’s blog is the third in a series of entries that treat a matter that most older adults eventually face: How will we live well when we can no longer take care of ourselves?) Once we’ve confronted our fears and worked at reframing our thinking, the next steps seem to be largely practical: Research the optimum facilities and choose the best options. There might be an intermediate step, though:MORE...

Read onRead laterAdd Comment

Bob Sitze

BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.

Recent Posts

Blog Topics

Archives

Get in touch

Share your thoughts about the wonder of older years—the fullness of this time in life—on these social media sites.

Receive Updates by Email

* indicates required