First, you decide if you are going to let your years or your abilities limit you. Life is a balancing act between constraining limitations and endless possibilities. There are some precocious babies, bright and winsome but they won’t be talking to their parents at six months. …

As the hurricane destroys our cities, we are heartened by the efforts of disaster agencies to cope with the devastation. We know that relief workers would work extremely long hours and risk their lives in heroic actions. We are so grateful. However, as important as they are to our well-being, we can also do our part. Now and always. Several religious societies have used St. Thérèse of Lisieux as their model. *She preferred “the monotony of sacrifice” in little kindnesses to going on pilgrimages.

In the face of her enthusiasm, I couldn’t refuse. Reluctantly changing my plans, we visited a flea market. I do not need any more knickknacks. I bought some peanuts and sweet potatoes within forty-eight hours of them being dug and thought the trip worthwhile. As I walked toward the car, I saw the remnants of a lady’s life. Lots of beautiful costume jewelry still in their cases as well as silver, jade, and pearls. Yet it was the Victorian dining room set with matching candelabra that referred me to another age and class.

We, like Moses, can't progress without God’s presence — “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”. (Exodus 33:19, NIV) Feelings of doubt…

I don’t envy the ninety-six-year Queen her jewels, worldwide fame, or high esteem, but her death made me jealous. To be able to talk lucidly with two Prime Ministers and stand for a photograph within forty-eight hours of her death is an end to be celebrated and coveted. Many elderly people like me would wish for a similar lucid, mobile, and social end. Erik H.Erickson and colleagues wrote decades ago in 1986 about the need for elderly people to maintain their attachments for healthy aging. The Queen never retired and remained involved.