This week, March 15-21, is global Brain Awareness Week. This time fosters public enthusiasm and support for brain science while spreading the word about the importance of brain health and its critical role in helping us live healthier, more productive lives. Use this dedicated week to intentionally support, strengthen and protect our minds and bodies while honoring what they may need at this time. 

One of the most common questions I am asked both professionally and personally is, “Jennifer, in your opinion and experience, what is the best facility?” Whether it is a skilled rehabilitation, long-term care, assisted living and/or memory care facility, everyone wants to know the inside scoop on the best place to help care for and assist their loved one. My answer is always the same: “It depends.”

Editor’s Note
We are What We Make The past year gave me clarity that I didn’t expect and I’m not sure I appreciate: I like art. But I’m not an artist. Months of weekends with nothing to do, long evenings and insomnia-driven early mornings mean I have a lot of time on my hands.

Whether you’re an employed Boomer ready for a career change, or need a job-search refresher course after being downsized due to COVID, it’s never too late to begin a new chapter. People in our age range in the workforce already know what the mistakes are because we’ve made them. We already know what’s coming over the horizon because we’ve been over it many times. We already know when a plan isn’t going to work, and we know how to improve it. Why? Because we’re highly experienced and can get the job done in one-third the time of anyone else — and that’s an asset.

Before the internet, matchmaking likely involved a friend setting you up with a cousin, or a coworker introducing you to someone who’s “perfect for you.”  That still happens, but it's also now respectable to fish in a much larger pool by using dating websites. For those of us 50+, it’s nearly a requirement.

Whether you live in the suburbs or a city center, boomers and seniors are likely to possess "The experience and knowledge necessary to deal with the potential difficulties or dangers of life in an urban environment.” In other words, street smarts. If street smarts are essential for living safely in our real world, is there an equivalent for the digital world since we spend more time there these days? Absolutely.