The New Year got off to a rocky start in my household when Covid reared its contagious head. Being an optimist, rather than let the virus get me down, I declared that the year can only get better from here. I hope that the Crow’s Feet community can join me with hopes for wellness and, dare I say, harmony in 2022.

The holiday period inspired many Crow’s Feet writers to share their thoughts on aging, on family, on what we’ve learned from living all these years.

Other writers are feeling refreshed after the holidays, and offer their tips on how to exercise better, eat better and maybe be a better person too. Read on!

-Nancy Peckenham, Editor

What Is Your Age?

The Age You Stop Being Young. And the day you are officially old. By Malky McEwan

How to Feel Younger. Some tips to fool your inner self. By David Martin

Staying Alive at 95. Some tools for living a robust life. By Mary McGrath

Death is Just Around the Corner. Although I hope not, really. By Catherine Dunn

Cheap Ways to Look Younger. Forget all those anti-aging remedies, try these! ByMary McGrath

Growing Old Scares Me. I can’t be the only one. By Anton Lex

Have You Heard of a ‘Late-in-Life’ Crisis? Some empathy for grumpy old people.By Greta Dias

Integrity versus Despair. Erik Erikson’s eighth stage of human development. By Patricia Ross

Are We Better Off Today Than We Were Five Decades Ago?

Things Weren’t Fine in ’69. Why can’t we all just get along? By Mary McGrath

The Long and Short of It. Escape from the follies of youth. By BOFace

My Midlife Crisis One Day in 1992. No time for hormonal drama. By Mary Lou Heater

New Year’s Reflections

The Future Used to Be So Bright. Finding hope in the midst of despair. By Laura Culberg- Welcoming Opposites

Looking Ahead with Dread? Three Ways to Have a Happier New Year. Your guide to getting happy in a hurry. By Judy Millar

11 Things That Make Me Happy. My New Year’s happy listicle. The indulgences of an almost 70 year old. By Carol Price

Regrets Are Teachers. Me and the Great Wall of China. By Marlane Ainsworth

What the Heck is There Worth Saying About January Anyway? This seventyish woman tried to think of ten things but only came up with eight. By Jean Anne Feldeisen

Ditch the Resolutions. Simply plan to get things done. By Julie Ranson

New Year’s Resolutions for the Gently Ripened. Ways to fool yourself into progress. By Dorothyanne Brown

New Year, New Me, Maybe… I haven’t been a good girl and maintained a challenging exercise program recently. It is time to begin again. By Meryl Baer

My 2019 New Year’s Resolution Was Not To Speak to Any of My Six Co-workers Unless They Spoke to Me. By September, I had spoken to only three of them. By Ruby Lee

Family Remembrances

Two Thoughts to Comfort My Grieving Heart, My Sister Died Last Night. By Richard Armstrong

The Pleasure of an Afternoon Cup of Tea. As my mother aged, her world became smaller. By Cora Nelson

A Mother’s Love. Remembering my mother. By Catherine Dunn

Tuesdays at the Dermatologist with My Mom. Move over, Morrie. By Bev Potter

One Good Thing I Remembered About My Dad Last Night. That helped me to see something about myself. By Scot Butwell

Health & Wellness

The Radical Resolution That Ended My 40 Years of Eating Disorders. I didn’t know it at the time in January 2011, but this is what I did. By Julia E Hubbel

Yes! Healthy Eating Can Be Easy. Green means go. Yellow means caution. Red means stop. By Cindy Heath

The Exercise Sweet Spot. The achievable, optimal approach to sustainable fitness as we age. By Joel Ombry

I Never Realized There Was Such Hostility Towards 80-Year-Old Marathoners. Until I read a recent David Martin article. By Anne Emerick

Have You Ever Told Someone with Eczema to Stop Scratching? Then don’t. Here’s what uncontrollable itching feels like. By Janice Macdonald

Humor

An Old Married Couple Goes on a Road Trip. Aging in a Time of Technology. By Orrin Onken

Retirement and Thankless Public Service. The cop said, “Mr Barrabee, I have your kids down here at the station, you’ll have to come get them.” By Brian Dickens Barrabee

Music Memories

In Our 60s & 70s, We Rock Out to the Music of the 60s & 70s. We got the beat. And the Beatles. By Loren Lieberthal

Music. Do man’s gifts top nature in any of the five basic senses? By Brian Dickens Barrabee

Another January Birthday Remembered: the Legacy of Elvis. Music icon’s life cut short by a preventable death. By Brenda Henning

The Best of the Rest

Don’t Call Me A Grandma! Unless I am your grandma! By Deborah Barchi

Widow’s Row with Too Much Cologne. In my childhood church, there was a pew known as Widow’s Row. By Sharon Johnson

Blocking a Facebook “Friend.” A recent widow, I wasn’t ready. By Margie Hord de Mendez

The Joy of Moving Things Around (and Out). Or the surprising benefits of minimizing. By Julie Ranson

Snow Days. As wonderful as I imagined. By Deborah Barchi

The Hazards of Being “Kinda” Retired. Tripping over the language of your next chapter. By Joel Ombry

We Put a Bid on a House Today. Hopefully, we will get it and live the rest of our lives in it. By Carole Olsen

Who You Calling Creative? (And must creatives have messy desks?) By Susan Barrett Price

What Happens When You Can’t Take It Anymore? On being owned by stuff. By Julie Ranson

Two Amazing Facts Come to Light When We Admit Our Mistakes. By Richard Armstrong