Sixty years after high school, Carol and I joined old classmates for a day of visiting, remembering, and catching up. Three conversations reminded me how much pleasure there is in simply being together. With my granddaughter’s 16th birthday just ahead, the weekend offered a little perspective on time, friendship, and the living still to do.
After an unusually busy month, I’m revisiting what an appropriate amount of work looks like at this stage of life. Management and ownership succession were important steps. Giving myself permission to slow down took longer. Now I’m learning to leave more room on the calendar for the other things that matter.
Five trips to the bathroom didn’t promise a restful night. But resisting one familiar temptation—checking the time—helped me get back to sleep before a busy week. Two devices offered very different sleep scores. I had my own verdict, and a reminder that aging gratefully sometimes begins with a small change in what we do next.
The other morning, I picked up a pair of 12-pound hand weights and completed three sets of four exercises. It was a short routine I made up myself. One day does not establish a habit. But it does establish a beginning.
Semi-retirement doesn’t always mean a slower pace. In this reflection, I share how trials, a demanding appraisal assignment, and an invitation to preach all converged at once – and how the resulting stress reminds me to appreciate both my continued usefulness and the routines that keep me well. Perhaps there’s a lesson here for us all.
Forty-five years after my first trial testimony, I found myself back on a courthouse bench, waiting—and remembering. The benches hadn’t improved, but my preparation had. Two courtroom experiences offer lessons about staying calm, listening carefully, and putting experience to work as we age. And sometimes, a long wait becomes a surprisingly long walk.
Michael J. Fox did not choose Parkinson’s disease, and optimism has not spared him its progression. Yet, with Tracy Pollan and their family alongside him, he has kept choosing what comes next. His story offers a clear-eyed way to think about gratitude, purpose and the future still available to each of us as we age.
For nearly seven years, walking has been one of the best decisions I have made for my health. But lately, my body has been reminding me that walking is not everything. Strength, balance, power and mobility matter more as we age. I understood that long ago. The harder question is whether I am finally ready to act on it.
What does a GLP-1 drug really cost? Depending on insurance, government programs, dosage, discounts, and where it is purchased, the answer may range from $25 per month to more than $1,000 per month. Behind that remarkable spread lies a larger question: Who can afford access to this health revolution?
Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, the images remain vivid—but so do the memories of where we were, whom we were with, and how suddenly the world changed. The anniversary prompted me to look back not only at that terrible day, but at the people, places, and experiences surrounding it—and to ask what we remember, and why.
