In this edition
- Take Charge
- Notes from Aging with Gusto
- Wellness 50+ Moves Ahead
- In the News
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Take Charge!
from Mark Skeie, VAN Director
One of the more difficult aspects of aging is to take charge of our lives and to do it with a positive attitude. It’s easy to complain. It’s easy to blame others. Pointing fingers seems to be a national past time.
The change can start with us! I do believe each one of us is attempting to make the world a better place. We must listen to what the other person is saying. We don’t need to compromise our values, but we need to understand why others’ beliefs might differ from our own. All voices have a right to be heard. We should accept differences without hatred or anger.
Have an open mind. Take charge of your own beliefs, don’t become a puppet, or behave like lemming.
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“Optimism is like a muscle that gets stronger with use. When you want to build a muscle, you got to keep using it. I’m an eternal optimist, and so I always find those silver linings, those moral victories. It takes courage to believe that the best is yet to come.“
----- Robin Roberts Good Morning America.
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Notes from Aging with Gusto (AWG) |
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If we've learned anything about
COVID-19, it's that the virus is unpredictable and highly disruptive.
Just as AWG leaders were ready to launch a new series of in-person facilitated discussions about living with gusto, the Delta variant showed its teeth. As a result, sessions will be online via ZOOM only for the near future.
What is Aging with Gusto anyway?
Aging with Gusto is one of the programs of the Vital Aging Network. Aging with Gusto works to ignite a more positive view of aging.
Aging with Gusto offers a three-session discussion series, currently only online. The discussions are led by trained facilitators and offer plenty of time for participants to engage and learn from one another.
The purpose of these sessions is to:
- Encourage more positive views of aging.
- Increase awareness of ageism and its impact on attitudes, behaviors, and experience with aging.
- Explore how to maintain our well-being and manage challenges as we age.
- Develop ideas for how to age with gusto.
It's no secret: our society favors youth and shies away from aging. Prejudice against people as they age comes with a twist: It is discrimination against our future selves.
Whether we're 6, 60, or 106, aging is happening to all of us if we're lucky. That's not going to change. But what can change is how we view aging and treat one another and ourselves as we age.
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Questions about any Aging with Gusto sessions? Contact Coordinator Donna Comer at donnajmcomer@gmail.com or 763-226-4729.
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Aging with Gusto Ageism Workshops
Did you know that Aging with Gusto also offers a program on ageism designed for organizations and individuals interested in addressing the negative impacts of ageism in their work with older people and their business environments?
We all have a role to play in igniting more positive views of aging. If we aren’t aware, we can be complicit in spreading negative ideas about aging. If we are intentional with our thoughts and actions, we can promote dignity and well-being as we age.
The Ageism Workshops provide a forum for people to raise their awareness about ageism and its impacts on older adults. This interactive workshop helps participants identify ways to address ageism in their work and personal lives.
Format: Normally 90-minute to a two-hour session, but it can also be delivered in greater depth and application to work environments as a 3-4 hour workshop.
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Cottage Grove - Forest Lake - Oakdale - Stillwater - Woodbury
Phillips Neighborhood
What is Wellness 50+?
Wellness 50+ has active teams in Washington County (Cottage Grove, Forest Lake, Oakdale, Stillwater and Woodbury). It also has a team in the Minneapolis Phillips neighborhood. Its purpose is to promote health and wellness in those communities. Wellness 50+ teams plan and facilitate activities that include walking groups, healthy cooking classes, book clubs, recipe sharing and more.
Click here to learn more about Wellness 50+ goals and strategies.
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What's Wellness 50+ up to now? |
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At right, hikers enjoyed a Wellness 50+ outing at Big Marine Park Reserve in early October.
Plans for 2022 underway
Throughout 2021 Wellness 50+ in Washington County has offered a wide variety of activities to promote health, fitness, and fun!
From outdoor events like hikes, kayaking events, and biking to online bingo fitness competitions, book clubs, blood drives and flu vaccine clinics, all these activities are planned and implemented by community members to:
- Increase awareness among people 50+ in the community about opportunities for self-care and its importance.
- enable older adults to make measurable changes in attitudes/practices likely to contribute to better health outcomes.
- Build community and to create a culture of wellness.
- Empower community members to provide leadership for wellness-related initiatives.
Wellness 50 is beginning to plan activities for 2022. Tentative plans include monthly Free Tuesday events at the county parks, monthly kayak trips, and monthly bike trips, along with classes and other events throughout Washington County. Watch future editions of the e-Bulletin for updates.
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I just wanted to thank all of your for the walk yesterday morning. It was wonderful meeting new friends and as always seeing old friends.
---Sharry
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You can get a free A1C test in November |
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The Cottage Grove Wellness 50+ team has been meeting with Jena DeMoss, the local Hy-Vee dietitian for the Cottage Grove and Oakdale Hy-Vee stores.
She would like you to know that during the month of November, Hy-Vee dietitians will be conducting 1,000 FREE A1C screenings at over 50 locations. Hemoglobin A1c is a blood test that those living with diabetes use to manage their blood glucose levels and provides information about the average levels of blood glucose over a 2-3 month period. You can register here for a screening at Hy-Vee .
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Join Oakdale Wellness 50+ and trainer Susan Weum on Thursday, November 11, at 6:30 p.m. to explore the new National Institute on Aging publication Get Fit for Life and to try out some of the exercises it recommends.
The event will be at the Oakdale Discovery Center, 4444 Hadley Avenue N., Oakdale.
Register by calling 651-747-3860 .
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Oakdale Wellness 50+ to sponsor blood drive on Oct. 22
The city of Oakdale and Oakdale Wellness 50+ are sponsoring a blood drive on Friday, October 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Oakdale Discovery Center, 4444 Hadley Avenue North, Oakdale. To register visit RedCrossBlood.org (search for Oakdale) or call 1-800-redcross.
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Minnesota Gerontological Society offers free webcast about caregiver strategies during COVID 19
On October 27 at noon, the Minnesota Gerontological Society is offering a free webcast about the nature of caregiving during COVID 19.
- Attendees will learn about how the nature of caregiving for older adults and adults with disabilities changed during COVID-19s and caregiver coping strategies.
- Attendees will learn of techniques or tools for caregiving to meet the current challenge.
- Attendees will learn about the unique attributes and strengths grounding family caregiving in the Somali community.
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Exercise for fighting dementia
The website NextAvenue recently published an article about using exercise to fight dementia. Read the story here.
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For more information about VAN's Wellness 50+ program
or e-mail: wellness50mn@gmail.com
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Would you like to receive the Vital Aging Network e-Bulletin? Subscribe now.
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