Interest in My Scandinavian Kin

 

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Before moving to Sanpete County, my mother informed me that I had ancestors from Denmark on my father's side. 

I did not investigate this at all until I moved to a city that is nicknamed "Little Denmark."  There is a relatively new housing development in northeast Ephraim called Danish Fields. 

I belong to a heritage organization called Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.  During one meeting, the speaker asked all those who had Danish ancestry to raise their hands. 

Denmark is one of the three countries that constitutes Scandinavia along with Norway and Sweden.  Every May, Ephraim hosts the Scandinavian Festival, which is coming on the Friday and Saturday before Memorial Day--as always.  

I confess that in the weeks leading to Scandinavian Days this spring I have been reading voraciously about Vikings even though I have no idea if I have Viking blood. I work part time at the public library, and I am getting ready to help patrons learn more about these infamous Nordic people. 

Our Family Dog Crossed the Rainbow Bridge This Spring

 

My favorite photo of Bolt, taken April 2020
b. June 2008 - d. April 2025

Trigger warning. Description of a dog slipping into frailty and then going to the vet for one last trip. Not too physically graphic, but descriptions of the dog mom's sorrow. 

Everything that is living is aging.  Our beloved dog, Bolt, has been slowing down over the last couple of years.  He is a rescue dog, so we were not certain of his age when we adopted him at the end of October 2009, but the vet guessed that he was about 15 months old. In June of 2024, he turned 16, which was remarkable given that his probably breed (Indian Spitz) lives for an average of 12 years. 

We adopted him in Kansas when our children were about 11 and 8 years old. 

Kids with Bolt in Kansas, Fall 2009

More Community Building

 

Photo by Wren aka KDA

My WOTY (word of the year) for 2024 was "Community." However, I am still very focused on connecting with people in my new county.  In fact, I am obsessed with building bonds with a number of institutions and a number of people. 

It is challenging to move in your 60s. It's even more challenging to move to a rural area where many people my age are not open to forming new connections. Many women my age here already have their daughters, their daughters in law, and their best friends from elementary school. They do not have any time (nor the inclination) to connect with new people. I would probably be the same way if I had deep roots in my town. 

Nevertheless, I am spending a lot of time working to connect with people formally and informally. 

Dementia: Personal Experience

 

Image by Abhijit Bhaduri
via Creative Commons 

When I was pursuing my master's program in gerontology between 2010 and 2013, I decided to focus on issue of cognition and aging. My understanding of age-related causes of aging was very academic. Yes, I did volunteer at a multi-level care center for five years, but that pales in comparison with having a relative living with significant cognitive challenges. 

Cognitive Overload

 

Photo by Michael Reuter
via Creative Commons

A few months after I moved from Indiana to Utah, I started carrying a clear, plastic stadium purse? Why?  I kept losing my phone and my keys. I am in my early 60s, so some might assume that I am showing signs of dementia. However, I have another hypothesis. 

I have been experiencing cognitive overload. 

I was trying to manage too many new situations at once, and my brain could not process all of the demands: 

Tom Lake: Book Review

 

Published 1 Aug 2023

Oh, Tom Lake was a quiet yet powerful narrative. I am crying softly because Ann Patchett did such a good job weaving together characters, images, setting, and themes.

I am a middle aged woman, and this is a book about Lara, a middle aged woman, taking an inventory of her life by doing an oral life review for her three daughters. It's about the choices we make in life--particularly when we are in our 20s--and how those choices set us on a path for the decades to come.

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