Senior Socialization

Celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month in June with Institute on Aging

Everyone deserves to grow older with dignity and pride, and without having to hide who they are. At Institute on Aging (IOA), we strongly support LGBTQ rights and feel that older adults, who had to spend much of their life hiding, deserve to celebrate who they are. These aren’t special rights: These are basic human needs that are just, fair, and moral. That’s why we are honored to celebrate Pride Month with our amazing LGBTQ community and everyone else who wants to join in.

Fun Things for Older Couples to Do Together in San Francisco to Rekindle That Spark

Think back to the very start of your relationship. Those early months—sometimes years—are an intense time of excitement and expansion. This person you’re developing strong feelings for is helping you to see the world with fresh eyes and enter new experiences in each moment simply because you get to experience these moments with them. This period of newness motivates self-expansion, which in itself is a happy and fulfilling experience. In time, the newness wears off and makes way for knowing your partner even more deeply and intimately.

Age Out Loud: Activities and Ideas to Celebrate Older Americans Month in May 2017

Cultural expectations have a funny way of forming without anyone actually giving thought to it. Take getting older. As a society, we have this notion that it is a time of slowing down, withdrawing, and isolating yourself from new experiences, regardless of what your health allows. We’ve treated aging as a time to step aside and to be quiet.

Gardening Activities for Older Adults in San Francisco Fill Pantries—and Hearts—with Natural Goodness

These days, the grocery store shelf is about as close as most of us come to the source of our fruits and veggies. There are some surprising disadvantages to this rather sterile exchange. Exposure to the rich, living dirt in which our produce grows leads to a stronger immune system, thanks to the harmless microbes and bacteria that teach our bodies to build up their defenses. Certain microbes in the soil have even been shown to stimulate serotonin production in the brain, lifting your mood and easing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Spending time in a garden also feeds you with Vitamin D from the sunshine and healthy exercise from digging, pulling, searching, and watering.

Rewarding Arts and Crafts for Seniors with Arthritis that Offer Explorations into Creativity

There is a central paradox of time that has been explored in a million different songs and poems. It’s that hours can seem so long, but the years go by so quickly. On a practical level, it can be expressed as a question: How do we fill these hours while also being fulfilled? That is, how do we make this short and precious time worthwhile by filling it with expressions of love, joy, and self?

Date Night Ideas for Older Couples in San Francisco, from the Adventurous Foodies to the Casual Diners

What does the concept of “date night” really come down to? It’s about interrupting your usual routines, so you and your partner can be together in a new way, in a new environment, and reconnect with renewed perspective. For a long time, my spouse and I would go out to dinner and a movie, and it really felt like “going out”—especially when we would hire a babysitter and take an evening away from the kids. Now, with the kids long out of the house, we still do this every few weeks, but it no longer feels special; it has become part of our regular fun routine. What we really need once in awhile is a change of pace and a fresh way of experiencing each other.

Mourning on Social Media: Living Far Away from Family After a Tragedy

To be able to see someone’s face from across the world is still truly remarkable, and nowhere is this more true than in a state of mourning. It wasn’t very long ago that the idea of video calls in a time of grief was impossible. I think back to when my dad was in the Navy in the early 50s, stationed in Okinawa. One day, he got a letter from home informing him that his oldest sister had died suddenly. She had a heart condition, and because of that she never wed. She was in her early 40s, and had moved past the years of her silent sadness to become a pillar of strength for her family, raising nieces and nephews—and her youngest, rowdiest brother—like her own. But then, her heart quit on her.

Never Too Old to Party: Birthday Girl Maintains Her Zest for Life at 101

Group Fitness Classes Offer Older Adults a Supportive Path to Get and Stay Active in the Bay Area

My friend Nicky went to her regular dance aerobics class recently, and a new teacher had taken over the class. The instructor opened with: “I was told this is a group of mostly older adults so I should plan to take it a little easier on you.” Nicky said she and the other students looked around at each other and then back at the new teacher and proceeded to set her straight about the fact that just because they’re older, doesn’t mean they aren’t active. Nicky spoke up saying, “We’re here to move, so teach us like you would any other class, and we’ll take breaks if we need to.”

How to Make New Friends When You’re Older: San Francisco Group Meetups Help Aging Adults Connect

“I’ve always had a lot of friends,” said Madeleine, who has lived alone in her family home since her husband died of cancer a few years ago. “But I’ve slowly lost touch with most of my friends over the years. I made some new ones through a support group here in San Francisco while I was caring for Walter, but when his cancer got worse toward the end, I couldn’t make it to the meetups anymore, and I fell out of touch with those people too.”