Word of the Year: Meek

 

Image by BrayDawg
via Creative Commons

Instead of making New Year's resolutions, I choose a word of the year. (Here is an explanation.) This year I have selected the word "meek" as my focus word for 2025.  I have been gearing up for this for several days, and I can tell this is going to be challenging for me.  

This difficulty only convinces me that I need to work on being meek. 

Happy 13th Blogoversary

 

Image by eflon 
via Creative Commons

I started my blog on aging thirteen years ago today.  I realize that Instagram and TikTok are becoming more popular among the various social media platforms. However, I still like the blog format, and I use this blog primarily to record the results of my reading what experts say about various aspects of aging at midlife and late life. I also use this blog to record personal experience. 

Image by Takashi Hososhima
via Creative Commons

I do see the appeal of images and short video reels, but I have been teaching writing classes for over four decades, and I still value writing as a form of critical thinking (for myself) and as a medium for communication. 

Let's look at a couple of metrics for this blog. I hope that you find a post that interests you! 

The Top 10 posts Viewed in 2024

These are my evergreen posts: ones written in previous years but viewed by people using search engines. 

1. Movies about Love and Sex of People 50 Plus LINK

2. Robert C. Peck's Tasks for Older Adults LINK

3. Movies about Older Adults in the Dying Process LINK

2024 Top Ten Posts

 

Photo by Andre' Hofmeister
via Creative Commons

Another year is coming to a close, so I am looking in the rearview mirror once again. 

In 2024, I wrote and published 19 posts, including this one. I succeeded in meeting my two posts a month goal until fall semester got into full swing, then I was silent during October and November. I was teaching three classes: two online for University of Southern Indiana and one for Snow College. I was also working 10-15 hours a week at my local public library. I just did not have the attention span to do much else once students' drafts of their research papers starting rolling in for comments. 

However, during the three previous years, I published fewer than 19 posts, so there is some victory in this  year's total!

Now let's look which of these posts garnished the most views. I hope that you find one that interests you.  

In reverse order, here they are: 

10. 85th Birthday Celebration on Mother's Day LINK

9. Late Life Happiness Boost: U Shaped Happiness Curve LINK

8. Patchwork Country Fitness LINK

7. Happy 20th Yoga-versary LINK

6  Outlive: Book Review LINK

5. Older Adults and Youth: Connecting the Past and the Present in the Future LINK

4. Drinking More Water LINK

3. The Book of Charlie: Book Review LINK

2. When Pneumonia Hijacked My Spouse LINK

And DRUMROLL, PLEASE!

1. Word of the Year for 2024: Community LINK

Related: 

2023 Top Ten Posts

2019 Top Ten Posts 

2014 Top Ten Posts

Swimming into Late (Mid)Life

 

Wren in the Snow College
Faculty Locker Room

When I was living in Wichita, Kansas, I attended a book club where one of the members brought a guest who was visiting from out of town. She was in her mid 80s and projected a lot of energy. I asked her about her fitness routine, and she told me that she had been swimming regularly for decades. I told myself that I would start swimming when I got older. 

At 62, I am running out of future for doing things "when I'm older."

For this reason (at at the prodding of my friend Rachel), I started swimming during this semester (Fall 2024).