By Judie Donaldson A couple of readers told me once that they enjoyed my writing. . .when I was humorous. I appreciate that, but darn. That doesn’t happen very often, and it certainly isn’t the case today. Today, I’m talking about illness, about older adults and the flu. I know. You’ve heard that this year’s […]
Voice of the Village: Help! Please find me a word!
By Judie Donaldson I have developed a new–and unwelcome–habit in my almost 80 years of life. Can you guess what it is? Oh, that’s an unfair question. At my age, there are a lot of unwanted new habits that are all too possible: having less energy. being less agile, succumbing to naps, not being […]
Voice of the Village: Are you taking care of your brain?
By Judie Donaldson You’ve heard of heart health, haven’t you? And dental health? How about brain health? Have you heard of that? It’s an important new concept that’s emerged because scientists have learned something new about our brains. Something revolutionary. Until the last decade or so, it was believed that our brains developed in childhood […]
Voice of the Village: Can you influence your longevity?
By Judie Donaldson How long do you think you’ll live? It’s a question that must have crossed your mind although it’s not a question with an answer. But how about this one? To what extent do you think that you can influence your longevity? In other words, how much do you estimate is within your […]
Voice of the Village: Life planning– for 70, 80 and 90-year-olds
By Judie Donaldson New Year’s Day. By its very nature, it wields an inherent significance. It invites reflection and assessment. It suggests the promise of something new. It generates hope and motivation, and, of course, it’s the catalyst for the inevitable new year’s resolutions. How about for you? Does New Year’s Day have a meaning […]
Voice of the Village: They call it ‘Vitamin G’
By Judie Donaldson Have you ever heard of the “science of generosity?” Hold onto to this question for a couple of minutes while I talk about my experience with generosity at Carquinez Village. It was close to three years ago that Lois Requist and I introduced to our area the concept of what eventually […]
Voice of the Village: Black Friday antidotes
By Judie Donaldson Well, “IT” is officially here. By that, I mean the holiday season. It’s sad that what marks the official start of the holidays across our country is Black Friday, the epitome of commercialization. Although I tried, I could barely evade the news reports – of melees, brawls, black eyes, arrests, and even […]
Voice of the Village: Building a habit of courage
By Judie Donaldson When I was 40, I did something that I wouldn’t have the courage to do today. I enrolled in a class for people who couldn’t sing, but wished they could. There were seven other crazy people like me who spent eight sessions together singing our hearts out. It would have been a […]
Voice of the Village: The oldest woman in the world
By Judie Donaldson I just read something that was so inspiring that I wanted to share it with you right away. It’s about a French woman who holds the record for the oldest women who’s ever lived. Care to venture a guess about how old she was? C’mon. Take a minute before you continue reading. […]