No Geraniums | Page 4 of 50 | Meaningful and Enjoyable Living in Retirement

Have you Ever Thought of Ballroom Dancing as a Form of Exercise?

February 22, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

My parents used to go to Benidorm every year for 8 months. So I would visit them at least once every winter season. My mother loved walking through the surf and most of the time I would accompany her then.

When we walked in the morning everything was quiet, but if we were late and it was already afternoon, we would hear music long before we were on the boulevard.

This music came from several big cafes where they had cleared the centre of tables and chairs to create an empty spot that served as a dance floor.

How Well Do you Understand your Everyday Communication?

February 17, 2022 by Tom van Oosterhout

The older I get the more aware I am of the peculiarities in my everyday communication. After all these years I think I understand everything and do not need to explain too much.

For most of the time that is true. But on some occasions, my ears are tuned to what I want to hear and my partner asks where I am with my head.

These are the moments that I become aware that nothing is more complicated as good communication. In this article, I will try to explain what makes good communication so difficult.

Do Assistive Technologies Counteract Ageing Conditions?

February 15, 2022 by Tom van Oosterhout

All sorts of conditions determine our everyday behaviour and fix us in time and space. They seem to leave us very little room to manoeuvre. For instance, given time we will age. Fortunately, all kinds of assistive technologies can help us to cope with the conditions that inherently accompany ageing.

In a nutshell, assistive technology (AT) is anything, from an item to a piece of equipment to a piece of software to an entirely new product that helps increase, maintain, or improve the functional abilities of people.

Do assistive technologies help us or do they counteract everything we can do better ourselves?

What is Digital Health and what Good is it to Us?

February 10, 2022 by Tom van Oosterhout

Digital health has seriously taken off during the past few years. But what is digital health? No computer, as yet, has been able to cure any ailments.

Is digital health perhaps about those cute little digital dogs, called Aibo? They keep you company when you’re lonely.

Or is digital health about those numerous digital health-training programs for medical staff? Or the advanced computer storage and processing devices, without which no nurse or doctor would be able to perform their job. Even more complicated are surgical robots.

Our Mobility Defines our Quality of Life Substantially

February 8, 2022 by Tom van Oosterhout

The importance of mobility is demonstrated by the enormous leap in the quality of life of older people took over the last 20 years.

This improvement is predominantly attributed to denser public transport, cheaper cars, scoot mobiles, rollators, improved electric wheelchairs, taxis-to-share and the like.

Our quality of life is defined by our mobility. That sounds a bit odd from someone who spent a substantial part of his life in traffic jams and overcrowded trains. But there is another side of the coin. Another type of mobility that is even more important.

How to Avoid Hearing Impairments? A Concern for Everyone.

February 3, 2022 by Tom van Oosterhout

The other day I wrote on Facebook that a hearing impairment can affect anyone. I introduced some common courtesy suggestions when you participate with people who suffer such impairments.

Hearing impairments primarily seem to be physical problems. However, for the ones suffering, these impairments are a social problem as well.

The risk of social isolation is substantial. This signifies that the responsibility of ‘fixing’ hearing impairments rests on everybody’s shoulders.

How Do you Cherish your Sweet Memories?

February 1, 2022 by Tom van Oosterhout

The other day sweet memories awoke. A friend of mine posted a map of a small village at the Belgium border where I used to cycle with my race bike.

Especially when the sun was shining and I had some time off, I frequently went for a ride there. His post made me go back in time.

My memories of these rides swiftly and vividly came back to me. I was amazed at how precisely I could picture the tracks I used to ride.

Where I had to go left. Where the roads were rough. Or where I was going down or up and had to push for some extra power. Sweet memories indeed.

How Fall-proof Are You? 9 Tips to Prevent Falls

January 27, 2022 by Tom van Oosterhout

To stay fall-proof is a major challenge. The older we get, the more we’re at risk.

How Fall-proof Are You? 9 Tips to Prevent Falls

Yet, falls are something where prevention pays off the most. Falls prevention also agrees with many of the suggestions we do at AGEwithCARE.

If you take care of your overall health, your chances to fall will decrease. Moreover, prevention of falls makes a lot of sense for everybody.

Is True Happiness Possible in Times like This?

January 25, 2022January 25, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

These are trying times. With many people either in lockdown or under the conditions of the virus measures, this is a major drain on our mental health.

Even when life hasn’t changed that much, like Tom’s and mine, it is obvious that the mere fact we can’t do as we please causes discomfort and confusion.

Is true happiness possible in times like this? I think it is, but let’s be honest and realistic – it asks for more effort.

Effort? Isn’t being happy not just something you are or are not?

Does Vaccination Protect the Herd in Case of Dreaded Infections?

January 20, 2022 by Tom van Oosterhout

Does vaccination protect the herd in case of infectious diseases?

This is open for debate. We, for instance, dodge vaccination against seasonal influenza. This can lead to hilarious situations.

At some point, our GP’s system failed and we were called by mistake for the yearly flu jab.

When I asked the assistant ‘How come?’, she responded: “Oh, that’s right. You’re flu refusers”. And yes, that’s how it is, we dodge the flu.