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Seniors

Cultivation of a grateful attitude will yield a great harvest

NIAGARA, Wis. — Our American culture prizes those individuals who are driven to excel and who succeed in building a life in which they “have it all.” They seem to live a charmed life: a solid career, standing within the community, a happy family, a lovely home, good health and money in the bank. As we begin a new year, many of us will set goals and make resolutions designed to build such a life; to help us achieve the long-sought-after American dream. But what do we do when that dream eludes us? Can there still be happiness if we do not acquire all that we had hoped? When we ...

Italians friendly, helpful to UP tourists

Editor’s note: This article was written by Iron Mountain residents Glady Van Harpen and John Nienstaedt, who have lived here since 1986. They visited Italy in October. In a story published Nov. 25, they told of their experiences in Sassoferrato, which is Iron Mountain’s sister city. This ...

Senior News: How to handle life changes in the coming year

NIAGARA, Wis. — Last week I talked about the excitement that comes when we usher in a new year. And I described my own celebratory traditions of this holiday, as well as the customs observed around the world to commemorate this transition from the old to the new. But there is an element of uncertainty involved with looking ahead toward a new year that may cause us to approach it with some caution. How do we prepare for events that have not yet happened? And how can we be excited about the future when it may not offer us what we have hoped? The answers to these questions come when we ...

Senior News: Traditions abound to welcome in the New Year

NIAGARA, Wis. — I love the beginning of a new year. I have always tried to usher out the old year by letting go of any events that may tend to linger as difficult memories, keeping only the lessons learned as a result of struggling through them. I also try to add goals for the coming year; I call them goals as the term “resolution” sounds too strict and demanding. And, quite honestly, New Year’s resolutions have a bad reputation as things that are only made to be broken. A goal can be made, really, as an open-ended promise to oneself to simply try to do better in the coming year. ...

Let’s continue the giving spirit throughout the coming year

NIAGARA, Wis. — Christmas has come and gone for another year. Our search for the perfect gift has come to an end; we watched, hopefully, as it was opened and experienced that special rush of emotion as we saw the joy spread across our loved one’s face. We knew in that moment we had guessed right. That joy we feel when we give just the right gift at Christmas can be duplicated throughout the year if we adopt the practice of generosity. I recently watched a Steve Hartman segment on “CBS Sunday Morning.” It was the airing of his Kindness 101 class with his two children; they were ...

Make finding time for quiet a goal in the new year

NIAGARA, Wis. — I can hear some of you already saying, “She has completely lost her mind. Quiet — at this time of year? I am way too busy to even know the meaning of the word!” I get that. Even in retirement, the holiday season is hectic and way too full of activities. But the glitter eventually settles, gifts are opened, holiday meals are prepared and eaten, family returns home. Things do settle back into their normal rhythms. With the approach of a new year, many of us reflect upon the one gone by and attempt to make some resolutions. Now would be a good time to resolve to ...