The November workshop, “Challenges of Caregiving among Older Adults,” featured Greg Owen, a sociologist and consulting scientist at Wilder Research, part of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in St. Paul, and several specialists in caregiving services at Wilder. They began by reporting on a survey of several hundred caregivers in St. Paul and ended with an overview of Wilder’s services for caregivers. These services include support groups, coaching and consultation, courses and webinars, a caregiver hotline, adult day care center, and respite services to allow caregivers to be away for short periods of time.

Half of the more than 40 workshop participants reported they had been or currently are caregivers. Many of the participants expressed interest in Wilder’s Tai Ji Quan group class, a balance training regimen designed for older adults at risk of falling and people with balance disorders.

— Ron Anderson, UMRA Program Committee

Meaning and Purpose in Retirement

This is detailed event summary was written in addition to the one presented above.

Ron Anderson, chair of the Cares Committee, introduced the goal of the workshop as learning how to apply concepts of meaning and purpose to decisions on how to spend one’s retirement years. He referenced research relevant to the importance of meaning and its relationship to happiness. He also provided the attached background paper.

Following Anderson’s opening remarks, four other UMRA members served as panelists. First, Dave Wark led the workshop participants through a mindfulness exercise, asking everyone to think back to an earlier time in their lives and to what brought them joy. Then, he asked everyone to apply those recollections of early joyous experiences to decisions about their present-day activities and thoughts about later life.

Panelist Kathleen O’Brien, after reflecting on her career as a University vice president and in many public policy positions, noted how in retirement she has taken University courses “just for fun.” Other sources of meaning for her include being a caregiver for her mother, which eventually led O’Brien to become active on the UMRA Cares Committee.

Dave Naumann, longtime UMRA webmaster and Board member, related how being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2000 changed his expectations and his life. He has learned to live with a life expectancy of two to four years, and since 2011 has taken on full-time, multi-year, “helping other” projects for UMRA and for a PF support group. Now confident those projects are in good hands, Naumann is narrowing his focus toward his family.

Jan Hogan, who has been very active in UMRA for many years, told how she transitioned from an academic career to being a community leader. She applied her research knowledge to volunteer service at both the leadership and operational levels in three homeless shelters: People Incorporated, Teresa Living Center, and Hope for the Journey Home. She was a founder of the latter organization.  

Perhaps the most common topic brought up by the other workshop participants was the dilemma of choosing between activities and directions that are enjoyment/pleasure oriented versus service/achievement oriented. Dave Wark reminded everyone that through meditative reflection it is possible to identify activities that offer both enjoyment and a meaningful legacy.

One of those attending described participating in an excellent program on the importance of purpose offered by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing: csh.umn.edu. And Ron Matross pointed out that quizzes and discussions related to vitality and happiness are included in The Blue Zones book published in 2017.

—Ron Anderson, chair, UMRA Cares Committee