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!

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Latest Entries

November 26, 2024

My metaphoric lifestyle home

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
November 26, 2024
3 Min Read
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26November

For as long as I can remember—at both a professional and personal level—I’ve fretted about the matter of living a Christ-like life in the middle of a culture that’s perhaps not always righteous. I’m aware that both contexts—Christ and culture—can lay claim on my identity, my priorities, my values. Just a few days ago, a perhaps-helpful metaphor came to mind: That my lifestyle and identity mightMORE...

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November 21, 2024

Ebbing elderly empathy

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
November 21, 2024
2 Min Read
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21November

Over my years of elderhood, I’ve noticed that some of us may have lost some of our abilities to empathize with others. This certainly isn’t a phenomenon seen among just older adults, but it feels unseemly, maybe even pitiable for those of us who are elders. What have I noticed? Older adults who behave as if they’ve forgotten that other people exist in their immediate physical surroundings. WhoMORE...

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November 18, 2024

What next?

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
November 18, 2024
5 Min Read
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18November

(Perhaps like you, I’ve been startled by the results of the recent national elections. After trying to parse what may have happened, I realized that it could be more helpful to think about what might lie ahead. That frame of mind could be more hopeful/courageous and thus more motivating. What follows are my ruminations about how I might purposefully approach a future that right now looks ominousMORE...

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October 22, 2024

Sharing the riches

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
October 22, 2024
2 Min Read
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22October

(As we consider these times—and pray about them—our words can help shape our own and others’ spirits for what we face each day. Our thoughts may grow more intriguing as we increase the variety of our words—sparking listeners/readers’ interest. Today I offer some familiar terms that may enrich your communications, and add *synonyms that might color your conversations and writing with especiallyMORE...

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October 18, 2024

“Think on these things….”

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
October 18, 2024
2 Min Read
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18October

Glum thoughts result in glum outlooks and withered motivations to live a purposed life. That sentence describes much of my thought patterns and lifestyle over way too many recent weeks. To be blunt about it: My older adult brain has not been firing on all its best neuronal cylinders. Perhaps you are experiencing the same state of a dimming mindset. What to do? St. Paul—who faced overwhelmingMORE...

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September 5, 2024

Angelus

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
September 5, 2024
3 Min Read
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05September

(The following entry is inspired by Jean Francois-Millet’s famous painting, “Angelus”. It depicts an elderly farming couple coming to the end of their workday with a moment of standing-in-the-field prayer.) Like many of you, Chris and I share words of spoken gratitude before our evening meal. Sometimes called “grace,” these varied prayers involve just the two of us, so they may seem small andMORE...

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September 2, 2024

Facing dead-ends III

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
September 2, 2024
2 Min Read
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02September

  One truism about older adulthood is that some of our life-decisions may now lead toward possible dead-ends. Places where no good choices remain, realities from which we cannot escape. (Familiar examples: Smoking from a young age, ignoring good health habits or spending beyond our means.) This truth leads me to wonder what might be happen when we finally realize that we’ve come to any ofMORE...

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September 2, 2024

Facing dead-ends RESEND

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
September 2, 2024
2 Min Read
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One truism about older adulthood is that some of our life-decisions may now lead toward possible dead-ends. Places where no good choices remain, realities from which we cannot escape. (Familiar examples: Smoking from a young age, ignoring good health habits or spending beyond our means.) This truth leads me to wonder what might be happen when we finally realize that we’ve come to any of life’sMORE...

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August 30, 2024

The scorn industry

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
August 30, 2024
2 Min Read
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30August

In case you haven’t noticed it, a significant segment of our nation’s economy is based on the promotion of scorn as an attitudinal pre-requisite for life as we know it. This industry includes bloviators and scorn stars, certainly, but there’s also money to be made in other segments of this burgeoning enterprise. (Here think of politicians ratcheting up hate speech to encourage campaignMORE...

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August 28, 2024

Public servants

By Bob Sitze
In Mind/Body
August 28, 2024
2 Min Read
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28August

I’m not sure about the most recent source of this observation, but it seems important to reiterate it right now: Much of what’s good about our society rests on the dedication and expertise of public servants. Government employees are similar in many ways to skilled workers in any enterprise. Their work often requires long hours under difficult circumstances. They weave their modest efforts intoMORE...

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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.

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