By Max Greenberg
E-mail Max Greenberg
About this blog: I developed a special interest in helping seniors with their challenges and transitions when my dad had a stroke and I helped him through all the various stages of downsizing, packing, moving and finding an assisted living communi...
(More)About this blog: I developed a special interest in helping seniors with their challenges and transitions when my dad had a stroke and I helped him through all the various stages of downsizing, packing, moving and finding an assisted living community. I live in Palo Alto with my wife and we have three grown children, one still in college. I have been in the Bay Area since 1977 (except for seven years in Newton MA — just missed all that snow too much.) I've worked in sales and marketing in retirement communities for seven years, and have hired and managed home care workers for family members, and have a pretty good idea of how aging in place, or shopping for and selecting the right retirement community works. I now run my own business, Palo Alto Senior Living, providing real estate and senior transition services. This blog is designed to share my experiences, insight and knowledge with seniors and their baby boomer kids and provide useful information to help develop a roadmap for smooth transitions or aging in place. I welcome readers to share their experiences, both good and not-so-good, in the hope that we all can benefit from each other.
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My wife was reading me a very touching obit in our local paper the other day. The woman who passed away was not only very accomplished but sounded like a very kind, caring, loving, humorous person. There were accolades and superlative galore.
I started to wonder if she was aware while alive of all the wonderful attributes she was appreciated for. I think the obit is a wonderful way to communicate about the life of someone that some readers may know, some may have heard of, and some have never met. I particularly like to read the ones in the NYTimes which are often very inspiring.
But why do we wait until someone is gone before we sing their praises. Or at least let them know how we feel about their lives up until now, and how it might have even inspired us already. It seems that it might be better to say “She IS always willing to go the extra mile” today rather than “She WAS always willing to go the extra mile” after she is gone.
If you would like to use this blog as a vehicle to express your love and appreciation for someone special in your life who is still with us, please feel free to do that. And don’t keep it a secret from the one you are writing about. Let them know there is something they might want to read and how to find it.
I’ll start it off with the lyrics of a song I recently wrote for my wife. She brings art and joy into the lives of the many recipients of the letters she has written to folks over the years by skillfully applying the many tiny pictures (stamps) where normally one would do.
She arranges her stamps, on a clean white canvas
As only her mind could compose
Whatever their value, they perform the tiny dances
As only her mind could suppose
