Entries in this category probe deeper thoughts about old age. Spirituality, self-image, relationships, hopes and yearnings — all the stuff of self-talk and core meaning for people who are older.
As you read this note, you and I will be standing astride two separate years. Like the mythological Janus, we will be looking at the passing of time in two directions—forward and backward. (Unlike Janus, though, we are not mythological gods in charge of beginnings and endings, nor do we guard the gates of Heaven.) This is a good thing—looking at time as more than just this moment—because bothMORE...
Today’s entry continues a series of short musings about lectionary texts that may soon appear in your line-of-sight. These entries may prove helpful in interpreting the appointed lessons with sensitivity to the realities faced by those who are older. JANUARY Background It seems appropriate to look at biblical texts from the viewpoint of older adults, who were among the original writersMORE...
When I was about ten years old, our mother decided to grace we three brothers with swimming suits that she would sew herself. The intent: To give us the gift of appropriate California swimwear. After a careful process of sewing together swimsuit fabric according to a chosen pattern, she presented us with the finished trunks. Were the swimsuits a gift? Not until we received them. Which we did, butMORE...
At my stage in life—and with my collected genetic predispositions hugged tightly around me—I am happy to announce that I am by and large “unremarkable”. For those of you keen enough to notice a hidden meaning in this word, my thanks for your remarkable insight! Yes, this is a medical term of great importance, bestowing great joy. As the recipient of some of the finest medical tests available fromMORE...
Today’s blog is the second part of an extended entry about dignity. The previous personal story prompts these additional observations about dignity in our older years. Like the self-image of the older men in the previous entry’s story, many of us who are older—perhaps any person at any age—can face the loss of dignity in our lives. Today, two major observations: How dignity can diminish as weMORE...
This blog is the first part of an extended entry about dignity. Today a personal story; next time some additional observations. There we sit, a bedraggled clutch of patients—waiting for our daily encounter with a robotic radiation apparatus that promises eventual healing from several kinds of cancers. From the look of this group of guys—all of us now retired—you can’t tell the CFO from the astroMORE...
Today’s entry continues a series of short musings about lectionary texts that may soon appear in your line-of-sight. These entries may prove helpful in interpreting the appointed lessons with sensitivity to the realities faced by those who are older. December Background It seems appropriate to look at biblical texts from the viewpoint of older adults, who were among the original writers, hearersMORE...
It’s good to be thankful—the so-called attitude of gratitude. I’m not sure that’s all there is to thankfulness, though. As I write this, Thanksgiving Day is upon the land, so it seems appropriate to reflect on this aspect of faithful living. Thankful thoughts can fill my spirits with other positive feelings—they come with the attitudinal territory. Two possible problems, though: FirstMORE...
As she grew older, I may have failed *Mabel. Although I tried to keep in touch, visiting and calling her with some regularity, I still let her down in one aspect of older adulthood: I wasn’t honest with her about difficult matters. Instead, I chose always to be positive and helpful, building up what eventually turned into only a façade of normalcy. To be direct: Mabel and I didn’t talk candidlyMORE...
I do not consider myself a macho man—the kind of guy whose physical and mental characteristics are rugged, independent, strong and manly in every way. That’s important to know as I lay out the rest of this story…. I am in the middle of treatment for another illness, and trying to figure out whether powering through the ailment and its treatments is a good idea. I know about power in its manyMORE...
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.