School's in session.

Fall is traditionally the busiest time of year for me. It is full of education sessions, developing new talks and reconnecting with clients. Recently, a few opportunities have arisen that are paving the way for a tornado of action come January. I'm not going to spill the beans just yet but I'll give hints later.

Anyway, St. Clair College has a great new program starting for those with an eye towards working with older adults. The Social Service Worker - Gerontology program is on deck for the Winter 2010 semester. The Windsor-Essex community NEEDS a program like this...it just doesn't know it yet.

I'm absolutely certain that the knowledge and skill taught in this program will be valuable in a variety of settings. As with any new program, employers in this area will need a bit of time getting used to the idea of hiring Social Service Workers with a Gerontology background. The field placement component of this 2 year program will allow students to get their feet wet before graduating - one of the best incentives for pursuing this certificate, in my opinion.

The other major incentive? Social Service Work is a registered profession in Ontario. Graduates of this program will be eligible for membership with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Sevice Workers. In otherwords, they will be RSSWs. This gives credibility to the program not available in many other college-level programs.

I would love to see some of the folks undergoing career makeovers give serious consideration to this as a field of study, especially if you don't care for the nursing profession but want to access the job opportunities that will accompany aging baby boomers.

Good luck to the class starting in January 2010.

Does summer really have to end?

Summer is almost over...so sad to say. I've been enjoying myself but, while busy in the pleasure of personal pursuits, I've neglected my blog. I'll be back shortly. I can sense the calm before the post-Labour Day storm...but for now, feet are still firmly planted in cool, blue water.

It's a beautiful day.

Today was one of those rare, perfect, sunny and warm, coolish breeze blowing kind of glorious summer days.

Enough said.

P.S. What do you do on days like this?

Gratitude journalling.

Today was one of those unexpectedly perfect days. It started off raining cats and dogs...so much so that our dog (a Saint Bernard) was too frightened to venture outside. Slowly the weather changed. Amid the hustle and bustle of a day filled with errands and mom's taxi service, a call came in from hubby saying we had been invited to spend the hot, sunny, afternoon and dinner hour with friends. I was on that like flies on, well, you know, because my original plans for the day entailed housework of the monontonous variety.

Let's just say my housework is still waiting for me. Life is precious. I've heard from many people in many places that "this life of ours is not a dress rehearsal. You only get one shot at this." I frequently tell clients to create a gratitude journal where you list 5 things you are grateful for that made today special. Here's my list for today:
1. I'm grateful that my daughter did not have to play soccer in the rain.
2. I'm grateful that we were on time and even early for an appointment.
3. I'm grateful to have found out that our neighbours are indeed installing a 7-hole par 5 golf course in their backyard!!! (it's been killing me to know what they have been up to with all that dirt)
4. I'm grateful to have been invited out for dinner and fun this afternoon.
5. I'm grateful for the luxury of having air conditioning and a pool on a hot day. May I never take them for granted.

Have a good night! I'm off to an early slumber (another source of gratitude).

What does Age-Friendly mean?

I had a comment on one of my posts asking what the term "age-friendly" meant in reference to cities, services, etc. Here's the answer I gave:

"It's a concept whereby communities make changes designed to allow for the inclusion of all citizens in an active, healthy lifestyle as they age. That can mean changes in infrastructure, policy, protection of the vulnerable, housing options, accessibility, etc. In 2007, the World Health Organization published a framework encouraging communities world-wide to become more age-friendly. For some light reading, you can read the report here: http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/Global_age_friendly_cities_Guide_English.pdf

June is Seniors Month in Ontario. The Ontario Seniors' Secretariat chose Age-Friendly Communities as their theme for Seniors' Month this year. The Ontario Gerontology Association also chose Age-Friendly Communities as the theme for its annual conference this year. Do you see where I'm going with this? There is momentum a-brewin'.In an ideal world, the end result of an age-friendly community is a community that is accessible and supportive of people of all ages and abilities."

What do cherry trees and Italy have to do with the economic downturn and retirement?

For many nearly and newly retired folks who took a hit in the economic downturn, a new perspective is needed when clarifying your vision of what retirement will look like.

If your vision of retirement looked included years of globe trotting around Europe with signifcant time spent in your vacation home on the Italian coast and your new bank balance says that's a 'no go' - think again. I encourage you to evaluate your dreams and goals to discover what is at their core. What key elements of that dream were important to you? With our Italian villa scenario, it may be that the love of exploring along with a passion for Italian culture and cuisine were the main elements. Maybe it was the idea of having a vacation property to escape to, or being near the water.

I was once working with a couple, we'll call them John and Mary, who religiously visited the Washington area each year to enjoy the cherry blossoms in the spring. It was an important part of their yearly planning that they didn't want to give up. When John developed health issues that prevented him from travelling more than short distances by car and not at all by plane, they were both devistated. They thought his health limitations limited the happiness they could feel when it come to their trip. We had a talk about what elements of this ritual were at the core of their enjoyment - why did they thrive on this vacation each year? For them, it was a few things: time together; the idea of having a tradition; beautiful cherry trees. After some brainstorming and some calling around, they found a farmer about a 30 min drive from where they lived who had rows of cherry trees. John and Mary plotted their route and decided that a scenic drive paired with an afternoon spent walking amongst the rows of cherry trees at that local farm and a well-deserved ice cream cone at a roadside drive-in gave them all the same essential elements that they had always enjoyed. It was their same old tradition with a modern twist.

Let's take a look at the dream of retirement in Italy and tweak it to match the reality of a redefined budget. Depending on the core elements of enjoyment, here are some very possible alternatives:
LOVE OF EXPLORING - take a wine tour, garden tour or unplanned road trip around the province with no destination in mind.
PASSION FOR ITALIAN CULTURE - Have an Italian community in your area? Become a regular. Visit Italian cultual clubs to see if they offer special events. Rent movies that highlight Italy. Decorate your home in a Tuscan style. Find out if there are cultural festivals in your area. Listen to Italian music. Take a language class.
ITALIAN CUISINE - Visit a different Italian restaurant each month. If there aren't many in your area, commit to trying different dishes each time you go. Take a class. Invite some friends over for dinner and try some new Italian dishes. Ask an Italian friend to share his/her cooking secrets.
HAVING VACATION PROPERTY - If a European villa is out of your league, a local cottage or trailer in an RV park may not be. Renting a cottage is a great idea, too. The inventory of cottage rentals has grown since the recession began as cottage owners, who can't sell their investments, decide to rent them out.
BEING NEAR THE WATER - Become a beach bum and spend the summer hitting all of the beaches in your area, canoeing the rivers, fishing the lakes or floating aimlessly in a rubber dingy - just don't forget your life jacket. You don't have to drive far in the great lakes region to be near water. Go on, get your feet wet! When's the last time you went hunting for sea shells?

Combine all of these ideas and you have yourself a pretty busy retirement plan that's not too hard on the wallet.

SLOWLY but surely.

I was invited to be part of a local working group partnering with the Ontario Seniors' Secretariat (http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/seniors/) to hold a one day forum in Windsor, Ontario sometime this fall. The focus of this forum will be to encourage this area of the Province to be come AGE-FRIENDLY.

It's not that strategies haven't been attempted in the past, because they have. They've just met with limited or no success. My hope is that these forums will bring the needed pressure on the powers-that-be to make significant strides in this area.

Hamilton, Ontario, for example, is on the brink of claiming Age-Friendly status. They have been working to this end for some time. Toronto is heavily invested in this idea as well. Windsor? Not so much.

It's no longer a case of being ahead of the curve. If Windsor-Essex and all it's 'retirement destination' dreams do not act promptly, they will find themselves, quite solidly, at the back of the pack.