Grandparenting

Elaine Soloway writes: It wasn't DNA that matched us, simply years of traveling together through life's joys and sorrows. A trio of these friends had known me through first marriage and divorce, and all cleaved to me through my second husband's illness and death. In the dark Evanston, Morton Grove, and Chicago mornings, we'd bring each other up-to-date on the goings on during the nearly five months since I departed from my longtime home. And even though I chat frequently with these friends, and view Facebook status reports, these early morning kitchen conversations were as precious as an heirloom. more »

Due to a federal court order, USCIS has resumed accepting requests to renew a grant of deferred action under DACA. Until further notice, and unless otherwise provided in this guidance, the DACA policy will be operated on the terms in place before it was rescinded on Sept. 5, 2017. more »

Editor's note ... We stumbled upon this essay while preparing the post for SeniorWomen.com: Nicolas Ricketts, a Curator at The Strong, asks: "What makes a game classic? Part of the answer is longevity. Most people consider chess classic; we've played it for centuries. What about playing cards? Woodblock-printed cards appeared during China's Tang dynasty (618–907), while written rules for card games were first seen in 15th-century Europe. Games such as Monopoly in the 1930s and Scrabble during the 1950s broke sales records at first... Like chess and playing cards, these games are now available in electronic formats, but people still enjoy the tabletop versions. In the spirit of those other famous games, I’d like to propose the tile game Mahjong as a potential classic." more »

Nearly 1 in 5 women with severe cognitive impairment — including older patients like Elena Altemus — are still getting regular mammograms, according to the American Journal of Public Health — even though they're not recommended for people with a limited life expectancy. And 55 percent of older men with a high risk of death over the next decade still get PSA tests for prostate cancer. Among people in their 70s and 80s, cancer screenings often detect slow-growing tumors that are unlikely to cause problems in patients' lifetimes. These patients often die of something else — from dementia to heart disease or pneumonia — long before their cancers would ever have become a threat. Prostate cancers, in particular, are often harmless. more »