Trusting Yourself and Trusting OthersBy Christina Baldwin, ISR Board member While visiting an elder friend Doris, I watched her handle a phone call that made me nervous. I could overhear a voice through the receiver telling her this was the Social Security office and there was some question about her account. Could she verify her number […]
The Trouble with Pride: Not Asking for Help Can Hurt YouBy Christina Baldwin, ISR Board Member She was 99-years old, living independently, proudly self-sufficient. So, when her window blinds needed dusting, she got on a step stool to do them herself. Something happened: she lost her balance, the steps went out from under her, she flailed […]
The Lightness of Letting Things Go by Charles LaFond, ISR staff member My home is cluttered with love. Well, “things” really, but they are icons of love that are hard to let go of and yet, it is time to let go of things as I get older. It is time to “small” my […]
Ask for What you Need and Offer What You Can by Christina Baldwin, Island Senior Resources Board member This phrase is an instruction and invitation to social exchange that lies at the core of village life. We think it’s so important we’re framing this year’s articles around this concept and the ways we practice the […]
If Only… By Robin Bush, Outreach Director, Island Senior Resources A few weeks ago, I went to my high school reunion. Before I flew out to the east coast, I had been wondering, “What would any of us have in common? What could we talk about?” We all started with the obvious, “What have you […]
The Practical Presents of Presence by Christina Baldwin, Island Senior Resources Board member What year did you do it? Look in all the closets, under the beds, feel around in the bottom of the clothes hamper, looking for what was hidden there in the weeks before Christmas or the days of Hanukkah? I was eleven, […]
Befriending One Another by Christina Baldwin, Island Senior Resources Board member On Whidbey, when the days get shorter and the nights get longer, we notice. Except for in Oak Harbor and Coupeville, there are not many streetlights, and not many stores stay open past dusk. Islanders tend to head home, hole up, and ward […]
A Place I Belong by Robin Bush, Outreach Director “There’s no place like home.” It’s not just what Dorothy says in the Wizard of Oz; it’s a truth central to our lives. “Home” has a meaning that reaches into our souls. When we are “at home,” we feel safe, comfortable, cared for, and at […]
Let’s put Neighbor back in the Neighborhood by Robin Bush, Outreach Director Nearly 30 years ago, I lived in a neighborhood where the folks from the block sat on my front porch steps every afternoon. Each day, I came home to one lady in her kerchief shelling peas or topping beans, another knitting a […]
Sla’inte Mhor! To Your Health by Jessica Karpilo Six years ago, Kathy Parks was like many older adults. She had owned a restaurant for years and loved singing in her church choir. After closing the restaurant, she had too much free time on her hands. Little did she know, a strange find at a […]