The Doings Hinsdale

Hinsdale Central yearbook editor urges you to pull out your yearbook

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:42:20 -0500

If you are a high school graduate, chances are you keep your high school yearbooks either holed up in the basement, in a corner of the attic, or collecting dust on a bookshelf at your parents’ house like my parents do. Yearbooks are like home videos. They are seldom looked at but always kept. Hinsdale Central’s 70th volume of its yearbook El Diablo was handed out to students recently. As editor, I took a very intimate role in its production. So I perked up when an English substitute I had last week had something to say about yearbooks. “Don’t have …

Rare chance to visit Fullersburg Cemetery in Hinsdale

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:19:46 -0500

HINSDALE — Expand your Memorial Day commemoration. Of course you should attend the annual parade at 10 a.m. in Hinsdale as well as the observations at Memorial Hall to honor those who have served our country and community. In addition, this year the historic Fullersburg Cemetery, so rarely opened to the public that you could truly say it is never opened to the public, will be open from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. I happened upon this cemetery a few years ago while walking one morning. I noticed that Fuller Street west of York Road went up a pretty healthy …

To gray or not to gray

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:25:18 -0500

LA GRANGE — I have four sisters and we’ve remained close over the years in spite of the geographic distances that separate us. We make a concerted effort to get together a couple of times a year, just the five of us. Often, when I am with one of my sisters, I comment on how attractive their hair looks. I admire the various shades of blond, brown and red, some highlighted at the beauty shop and some colored at home, but all looking quite lovely. We have various shades of hair color; most quite different from the shade we were …

Program focuses on how to love your teen

Thu, 02 May 2013 03:39:46 -0500

HINSDALE — Being part of a rather large crowd at last week’s Loving Your Teen Without Losing Your Mind presentation was encouraging and empowering, though some material was downright startling. “Parents of teenagers all feel like fools and failures,” said Michael J. Bradley. “You’re here because you want to know how to control your child.” In today’s world, parents need to shift their thinking. “Your role is to teach the child to control themselves,” he said. Bradley, Ed.D., is a nationally recognized speaker, author and expert on teenagers. He loves teens, loves their honesty and their passion and is also …

Breaking down barriers with the homeless

Thu, 02 May 2013 03:31:41 -0500

Library: a shelter for the homeless with shelves of books. Some days that’s how it seems in my town’s library. I sometimes smell them before I see them. They settle in the soft chairs on the library’s second floor — talking, eating, sleeping or just sitting. My mom was never homeless, but dementia had destroyed her grooming thermostat. She wore layers of stained, dirty clothes. She stopped taking baths. She “dry-shampooed” her hair with baking soda. She looked like a homeless person. The day I took over her grooming, I brushed enough baking soda from her matted hair to fill …

Searching for a child’s ‘lovey’

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:39:38 -0500

When you say “My Child’s Lovey,” people from all walks of life will give you a knowing nod. A lovey can be anything — blanket, pacifier, stuffed animal, random household object — but it always has the same job; it is a young child’s touchstone of comfort and security. My middle son’s lovey is his stuffed dolphin, “Seesh” (so named by his toddler pronunciation of “fish”). I swear there hasn’t been a love this deep between a boy and his lovey since Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. Because Seesh comes everywhere with us, I am immediately thrown into a …

Look outside the medicine cabinet when treating pain

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:41:07 -0500

I will never forget that morning six years ago when everything changed. I awoke to vertigo, head and neck pain so severe I was bedridden for days. Next came the doctor circuit. Everyone had a different theory about what was wrong with me — Meniere’s disease? Migraines? Anxiety attacks? — and a prescription to match. Nothing helped; some things made me feel worse. I couldn’t work, drive or care for my children. Today I’m doing better, thanks to two specialists who keep me functioning. I learned I have temporomandibular joint disorder, a problem with the jaw joint and surrounding muscles. …

If not now, when on gun violence

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:25:37 -0500

I am endearingly known as “Danger Woman” in my family. This is not because I am a daredevil, but because I am always on the lookout for potential hazards. I recall several Fourth of July seasons when I threatened to picket in front of our house if my husband set-off fireworks in our back yard. My grown children still recall with embarrassment the Halloween I gave out pencils and stickers after a candy scare. That being said, I have been paying close attention to the discussions regarding gun violence in our country today. I use the term gun violence and …

Navigating lonesome places

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:55:12 -0500

Elsa, at 88, had only one friend left whose mind wasn’t corrupted by dementia. That was Beth, a sharp, lamb-haired lady of 82. Beth could hardly walk. Elsa could hardly see. Elsa telephoned Beth every Monday evening. Each lady sat at her own kitchen table, sipping a glass of wine. They conversed about everything from whether marijuana should be legalized to whether La Grange was right to ban backyard chickens. Then Beth died. Now Elsa is the last of the sharp ones among her circle of peers. She’s tried to set up weekly phone chats with other elderly friends. But …

The truth behind a mid-life ‘crisis’

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 06:13:02 -0500

I am 43 years old and I own — and wear — a pair of cheetah-print skinny jeans. I also dream of being in a rock band. No doubt these statements will evoke a myriad of responses: “Who cares?” “You go, girl!” “Ugh.” “Honey, I WISH I was 43 again.” “(Gasp!) She told the whole world her age!” And my favorite: “She must be going through a mid-life crisis.” Ah, the mid-life crisis theory. It’s the go-to explanation for anything middle-agers do that is considered unorthodox for our life stage. He bought a sports car? She gave up a posh …

Racking up points demeans virtue of NHS

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 06:43:24 -0500

Being a member of the National Honor Society brings on ambiguous feelings. National Honor Society, a national organization based on the pillars of scholarship, service, leadership, character and citizenship, recognizes high school students on their commitment to these qualities. Sounds great. Sign me up. And yet, there’s a catch. Membership is “selective,” based on previous volunteer experience, extracurricular activities, GPA, and teacher rankings. Last year, I was privileged to be invited to join the Hinsdale Central Chapter of NHS. As an active member, I am obligated to complete an individual service project, a group service project, and 35 hours of …

Happy Valentine’s Day, America

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:29:13 -0500

I can easily get down about what is wrong with America. I am aware of the multitude of problems facing our country. Many do not have easy solutions. I am also aware that there is much to be proud of in these United States of America. Recently, it was necessary for me to take my 90-year-old father to the emergency room. He went reluctantly so it was especially nice to be pleasantly received by admitting personnel at the hospital. Nurses and doctors alike treated him with kindness and respect as they listened to Dad’s stories and his jokes. Everything was …

Keep records of vital information for elderly parents

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:26:23 -0500

Sometimes we make assumptions about the information that we have or don’t have when it comes to our parents, grandparents or other seniors in our lives. Unfortunately the moment we realize that the information we need is not available is usually during a crisis.

Taking stigma off incontinence

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:14:03 -0500

Watching daytime TV, and all of the commercials for incontinence products, one might think that incontinence is a normal part of life and aging.

Working hard as stay-at-home

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:44:00 -0500

Do you work? Irene hates that question. She’s hated it since she quit her job processing pensions for grocery store employees. That was 20 years ago. Since then she’s been a married mother of three. These days her children are gone a lot. Her oldest is away at college. Her middle child is a high school senior. Her youngest is in junior high. “Do you work?” a La Grange banker asked her recently. Irene and her husband sat before his big desk seeking advice on their children’s college funds. “Yes,” Irene replied. “I’m the family slave.” Her husband rolled his …