Editor’s Note

People my age complain about the humidity and heat like it’s their hobby, marking time until autumn rolls in. Summer goes by too quickly for me; I get anxious when the light shifts in August and I hear the marching band practicing at the high school up the road. ...

As a shameless attention-seeker, nothing was more thrilling than Chi-Chi’s restaurant on my birthday. “Gosh, I hope they’re not coming to my table,” I’d say without meaning it, as the waiters carried a giant sombrero to my table, popped it on my head, and clapped-sang “Happy Birthday” over a bowl of fried ice cream. ...

I’m still on the entertaining/hosting track, but am sorting through kitchen items and party gear that I no longer need. I’m keeping the best of stuff and leaving it for our kids to tackle with a dumpster and a tag sale company after I’m gone.  ...

Somewhere between my shoulder and fingers, I’ve lost that ability. I’ve started keeping a set of channel locks nearby, which may get promoted to the kitchen drawer to save crucial steps. The way my hand strength is going, I’m getting paranoid about other body parts. ...

The holidays for the Northeast Ohio Boomer team felt different this year for one big reason: We weren't busy pulling together our January/February issue to kick off 2025. As we announced a few months ago, Boomer has a new name and a new publishing schedule. We're now Northeast Ohio Thrive After 55, or Northeast Ohio Thrive for short. The name better reflects our readers, many of whom are not technically Baby Boomers. Plus, we think "Thrive" better describes how many of us approach this second half of life. ...

Now that nighttime arrives in the afternoon, I’ve accelerated my evening routine, wondering just how early is too early to change into pajamas, although it sounds better if I call it loungewear. ...

My social media mishap occurred like most poor decisions… between midnight and 3 a.m. I was scrolling through my TikTok feed, past playful golden retrievers and curly hair tutorials when I landed on a woman boiling a jar of Vaseline. ...

I need to cut back on my scream time but I’m not having much success. The problem is, Alexa’s gone rogue; I haven’t yelled this much in the morning since the kids moved out a decade ago.  ...