Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis I was late learning about the expression, “That's a first-world problem!” but I have adopted the terminology.  If you’ve not heard the expression, let me update you. We often use the phrase third world as a description of poor, underdeveloped countries where the people who live there lack adequate food, clean water, and shelter. Those are serious problems! But first-world problems sound more like whi

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis My mother’s handwriting was beautiful.  Even in her 90's, it was perfect.  Every time I see something that she penned (like a recipe), I feel like she’s in the room.  Recently, I was with a new resident filling in paperwork.  As I reviewed the documents, it was like looking at Mom’s handwriting.  I smiled!  It wasn’t just my mom; it was generations of well-trained students.  I was trained too.  Wasn’

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis   One hundred years ago, the average life expectancy was 47 years.  Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.  Eight percent of the households had a telephone. There were only 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads.  The average U.S. wage was 22 cents per hour.  The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.  A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year, a dentist $2,500 pe

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis   This holiday season, which includes multiple celebrations, is full of elevated emotions.  We often overlook the possibility that those feelings might be negative for some people.  In contrast to the excitement of family gatherings and children playing with new toys, these are the painful memories of those who are not here this year. The longer we are privileged to grow old, the fewer family and fri

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis Plenty is written these days about caregiving and caregivers.  The topic covers a vast number of situations that include all ages.  For Seniors, it becomes almost a given at some point.  My focus today is not on the one receiving care, but the one providing care.  I have the privilege of meeting couples every day who have been married for 50-plus years.  Their interactions are like a well-oiled machi

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis How can you live in Kansas and not embrace change?  The weather is a significant teacher in our part of the country.  We are always anticipating and preparing for the next season, enjoying the current season or suffering through the extremes of a particular season.  It is like a school designed to teach us life lessons.  But I think fall is like getting an extended recess!  Fall is a spectacular tim

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis I was looking online for topics that pertain to seniors.  I had to laugh when the first topic listed was walk-in bathtubs .  When a subject reaches the top of a webpage, it means it is more frequently visited than any other topic.  I’m not sure that many people see bathing as the #1 issue or that the walk-in tub manufacturers do the most advertising.  It is as if remodeling your bathroom fixes all th

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis Thanksgiving Day is a great reminder that we have so many blessings in our life.  But the truth is that we ought to be practicing thanksgiving every day of the year!  Maybe it would be better to celebrate Unthankful Day  once a year.  Everyone could have permission to whine and complain for a whole day and eat day-old cold pizza; the rest of the year, we could practice thanksgiving!  Dear Abby printe

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis Today’s researchers say that loneliness may be as detrimental to older people as cigarette smoking and high blood pressure!  The multigenerational study done by the Stanford Center on Longevity’s Sightlines Project revealed that social engagement might be the single greatest guardian of health and endurance.  There are many conjectures about why this is so. Social interaction generates mental stimula

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis When I was out of college and a young stay-at-home mom, my mother-in-law gave me some sage advice about drinking coffee . It really wasn’t about the coffee; it was about becoming integrated into my new community with friends and neighbors. She told me that drinking coffee was a primary reason to get together and visit---thus the Coffee Klatch. She suggested I learn to drink it black. It would have no

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis How about a dependence day? Yes, you read it right,...

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis Retirement has been a part of our culture since the late...

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis Learning to laugh at ourselves is one of the most beautiful...

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis All About Aging , by Dr. Maxwell G Berry, MD., to my...

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis In 1979, at the age of 70, Dr. Berry wrote, “Eighty-five...

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis I recently came into the possession of a manuscript called...

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis A smile says it all! As the first wave of boomer generation...

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis One of my ongoing topics is about stuf f.  It seems to be a...

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis Did you drive a station wagon?  That dates you for sure! ...

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis I’ve got a product for you, and it is guaranteed to reduce...