Maybe you’ve watched and enjoyed improv comedy, maybe you’ve participated in it. Regardless, I’d say most of us are aware of the concept of “yes, and” that is the foundation of a successful improv sketch. It’s the fundamental rule for improv actors, when faced with a scene, that they agree to whatever their fellow actor

Preventative Measures to Protect Against Grumpy Old Lady Syndrome There is an old joke that if you want to get a room full of eighty-year-old women to swear, shout “Bingo”. Of course we think of Bingo as a stereotype of old age, but of course when we are an eighty-something, that won’t be us. Right?

If I’m 86, Don’t Invite Me to “Thirsty Thursday” If I’m 86 there are a few things I want you to remember. If I’m 86, I was born in 1930, three years before the prohibition era ended. I can likely recall stories from my parents of bathtub gin and speakeasies. Times were different back then,

The Use of Robots with Seniors is NOT an Ethical Dilemma I’ve been reading a lot of headlines recently about robots being used with the senior population, and for every article I see, I end up clicking on it, getting the gist, and then getting upset and needing to do a lap around the senior

In Praise of a Universal Programs Calendar If you are in a senior living community and have never run a program for a high acuity population, please stop reading this, email it to your Life Enrichment Director, and go relieve them of whatever program they are in the middle of so that they can read

To The Daughter Who Just Moved Her Mom into My Community To The Daughter Who Just Moved Her Mom into My Community, Take a deep breath. She is here. We made it. Before she moved in, we talked about how this might be a hard change for her. She was, after all, in that house

Creating New Vision with Visual Impairment A friend recently reached out to me with a situation that is far from uncommon, but as with almost any scenario where you are dealing with people, unique for her and her loved ones. Her grandmother, recently returning home from a hospitalization, had a change of condition in regards

An Open Letter to the Woman Who Told Me I Missed My Calling Because I’m in Sales As we finally bumbled into the ER ambulance loop, one hand holding my balance on the ambulance bench, the other holding my resident’s hand on her stretcher, the female police woman sitting on the other end of the

5 Principles of a Good Visit There’s a dirty little secret that none of us are talking about when it comes to visiting our loved ones. Visiting is hard.  It is hard for so many reasons, both for us and for them. Be it our parent, grandparent, spouse, or dear friend, often the person we