Firsthand | experiences with aging
By Ron Anderson
Do you often feel cold when others don’t seem to notice the chill? Do you find yourself putting on two jackets when others feel fine with one? At the age of 78 I started feeling cold most of the time. When I put the problem to my doctor, who is a bit overweight, he joked that not all of us are lucky enough to have a layer of fat to help us keep warm.
Upon further research I discovered that abnormal sensitivity to cold temperatures is called “cold intolerance” and may be due to low metabolism, especially insufficient production of thyroid hormones. Or, it may be due to Raynaud’s disease, a disorder affecting circulation, especially in the fingers and toes, or even anemia, which yields a low red blood cell count.
Eventually my doctor ran about a dozen different blood tests to determine whether or not I had any of these conditions, and sure enough I have a type of anemia often found among those my age. He seemed really happy to have uncovered the problem even though it lacks a cure.
I used to feel comfortable in a 72-degree room, but now I need it to be at least 79 or 80 degrees to keep from shivering. However, my wife has a normal “internal” thermostat. This has led to great training in compromise: sometimes we work in separate rooms that can be individually heated; other times, we set the temperature to a midpoint.
After a few months of working out these compromises, it dawned on me that being very cold is a lot like feeling mild or chronic pain. And, just as mindfulness can be used to ignore pain, if I think of shivering as mild pain, I can make the cold, in effect, go away. Fortunately, I already had a mindfulness meditation practice. And what better place to practice acceptance of extreme cold than Minnesota?
News
This will be a new regular column where you can find organizational tasks that need your help! We are currently looking for help researching a new UMRA Membership Database and URVC volunteer database, and a co-producer for UMRA's Zoom webinars. See more details:
Beginning January 1, 2027, the University of Minnesota is making updates to medical plans, the pharmacy vendor, and the Wellbeing Program incentive that apply to retirees and dependents enrolled in these plans.
The University of Minnesota has had a presence at the Great Minnesota Get-Together for 167 years. And on September 3, 2026, UMRA made its Minnesota State Fair debut to talk with fairgoers (on Seniors Day) about retirement and to promote opportunities to volunteer through our University Retirees Volunteer Center.
Like all of us, UMRA member Barbara Heinemann has been reflecting on 9/11 and life in the 25 years since then, with mixed feelings.
December 31 is the application deadline for UMRA’s 2027 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition. Retirees from all five University of Minnesota campuses are eligible to apply. We invited Brad Hokanson, professor emeritus, UMN Department of Design Innovation, to tell us about the work supported by his 2026 grant to promote teaching creativity in high schools.
Meet UMRA member and volunteer extraordinaire Kay Louis. She devoted her career as an Extension educator — “bringing the University to the people” — to developing and providing programming for adults and youth.
The UMRA membership year runs from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2027, it’s definitely time to do so!
UMRA has a Facebook group that is open to UMN retirees and others with close ties to the University, for posting messages about anything University- or retiree-related. Learn more.
UMRA hosted delegates from 14 of the 18 schools in the Big Ten for the 2026 Big Ten Retirees Association conference in July. It was described as “the perfect collaboration” by two delegates we invited to share a few of their key takeaways from the conference.
Developing communication skills is the focus of two programs needing volunteers this fall: the “Reader/Writer Program,” assisting students in Minneapolis Public Schools grades 7-12 to develop literacy skills; and “Partners in English,” engaging in conversation with adults for whom English is not their first language.
After being unexpectedly sidelined at the outset of her retirement, Pam Snopl now enjoys doing many of the things retirees get to do, including reconnecting in person with family and friends, going to museums and weekday Minnesota Twins games, reading, and writing.
UMRA member George Swan retired in 2021 after 30+ years at University Libraries, but still returns to campus to visit one or another of the libraries at least twice a week in his current role as a student/retiree.
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program is an annual competition for grants to support projects related to retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarly or creative interests.
UMRA needs everyone to renew their membership for the coming year. Thank you if you’ve already renewed! If you haven’t, please renew right away.