Instead of getting wrapped up in the daily grind, take some time out to do the things you love the most. Here are some ideas on how you can get started.

Keep Playing

Interactive word games and memory games can enhance the memory while entertaining. For example, the Dakar BrainFitness website, www.dakim.com, has five free trial versions of brain exercise games to play on your computer. The games range from easy to difficult and are tailored to age 50-plus, and are suitable for users with a broad spectrum of cognitive abilities. Depending on the game, you can improve various functions like attention, short- and long-term memory, calculation, and critical thinking.

One game uses music to help short-term memory and attention. Another game shows clips of old movies and tests critical thinking and calculation. For example, watch a short clip of an old Jimmy Stewart movie, then answer questions about what you’ve just seen. Offering multiple-choice answers, the program praises you when you’re right and is kind when you aren’t, like “Good try, but this is the right answer.” Another game involves trivia about famous people.

Word Wager tests short-term memory, attention, and language by showing a series of words to remember with multiple-choice answers. I tried all of these games expecting to breeze through them, but learned very quickly that my brain definitely needs more exercise.

Join an Education Group

When Maggie McCarthy moved to Louisville, she joined the Veritas Society, a continuing education group sponsored by Bellarmine University that is geared for age 54 and up. With no prerequisites, no tests, and no grades, participants can relax in a venue that offers participatory learning in classes and discussion groups, field trips, community outreach, social events, special lectures, and a Lunch and Learn series.

Maggie considers herself a “college personality,” so she enjoys the variety of classes, speakers, and events the group offers. She also now serves as the secretary on the board of directors and is editor of the newsletter.

Class instructors and speakers are volunteers and include professors, experts, and professionals. “People like to teach for Veritas because the students participate actively and they want to be there,” Maggie said. “I tend to take more of the art and travel kind of classes.”

The Veritas Society membership dues are $65 per semester, which includes three courses per semester, free parking on campus, use of the Bellarmine library, discounts on selected Bellarmine classes, and access to Bellarmine's golf course and sports, recreation, and fitness center. For additional information, contact the Veritas coordinator, at 502.452.8374.

Use Your Imagination

Susie DeZarn accidentally discovered a new world right in her own home. Susie collects dolls and dresses and poses them for photographs that tell a story. Then she posts them on the website Flickr.

“Art is my background. I do a lot of collages, and I did the Bourbon Ball poster one year. Somehow I ended up putting a camera in my hand with a macro lens and it opened up a whole new world. It’s instant gratification. You put a doll in the picture and a few props and set it up and the next thing you know you’ve got something that’s funny or that someone gets a kick out of.”

Susie uses her quirky sense of humor to make unusual scenes. Once she took a Glinda the Good Witch doll and a Wizard of Oz doll and put them in a Barbie car, setting the scene for a road trip. During a series of photos, Susie portrayed the dolls making friends along the way.

But her personal favorite is a series with a vintage Wicked Witch of the West doll posed with a tiny box of popcorn in front of a miniature toy television. Susie printed a picture from the Wizard of Oz movie depicting the witch melting. A miniature box of Kleenex makes it appear that the doll is crying as she watches herself melt on the screen.

While she was not a doll collector in her youth, one of Susie’s favorite dolls was Blythe, which was introduced in 1972 but was discontinued due to poor sales. Years later, a friend told Susie that the doll with the big head, tiny body and large round eyes was being reproduced. “I bought one on eBay and the two of us started looking around and typing in Blythe and found out some people were photographing her and, oh my gosh, there’s a whole world out there.”
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Susie has made friends in Poland and England who share her passion for photographing dolls. “We’re fanatical about it. Once you get started it’s crazy and we even send each other boxes of stuff like toys or props or a doll that somebody thinks you can use in a different way.”

Susie laughs about her hobby. “The only thing that makes me feel better about it is there are other people out there that do the same thing. It’s so much fun.”

Don’t Let a Disability Stop You

Terri Reinscheld is responsible for planning activities and events for about 400 residents at the Friendship House and Chapel House at Christian Care Communities. Terri said, “I had lots of people who used to bowl but no longer can because the ball is too heavy or they can’t get around.” But thanks to the computer age and a nice donation, the facility invested in two Wii games. Using a television and a Wii bowling program, a bowling lane appears on the screen as if you were there. A handheld remote controller mimics the action of rolling a ball down the alley. Terri brought in high school students to teach the residents how to use the controller, which involves holding down a button while moving one arm in a swing motion, then releasing the button as you would release the ball. As you watch, the ball rolls down the lane and you hear the pins fall as if in a real bowling alley.

The user has the option of taking traditional steps or can stand still or sit. “Many of our residents do it seated. We’ve had therapists bring residents in wheelchairs to Wii bowling to try to strengthen their arms. From a seated position you get a lot of exercise from the waist up, but it really works the whole body.”

Move It

For those who want a different type of exercise, Tai Chi is an option. Terri said DVDs are available for those who can’t get out to go to a class. Using slow, deliberate movements, “Anyone can do Tai Chi,” Terri said. “There are a lot of different moves if they need to do it from a sitting position. Even if you can only move a finger, you can do Tai Chi. If you can only move one side, it helps the other side that may have paralysis. If we’re asking someone who has their hand on their thigh to slowly bring it up above their head, well maybe you can only bring your hand up to shoulder level — that’s okay because it’s exercising. As long as you can make a movement, that’s exercise, and if it hurts you need to stop.” Terry has watched residents improve their range of motion with practice. “It doesn’t matter what age you are or what problem you have, the more you work at it, the farther you can go and the easier it gets for you.”

Learn a New Skill

Ron Kendall decided to take organ lessons at age 58 when a friend suggested it may help his medical condition, CMT Neuropathy, which was affecting his ability to use his hands and legs. Ron and his wife, Verna, signed up for a class called Music Making and Wellness offered by Central Music Company. As part of a $19.95 package, the music store delivered an organ (on loan) to the Kendalls’ home along with two music books. The couple enjoyed it so much they soon bought a nicer organ. In the past eight years, they have traded up six times. Ron said, “A bigger organ inspires you to play because it has more features, just like trading up on a new car.”

Ron believes the practice has improved the flexibility in his hands. An added benefit is the social side of sharing the music with other students. They have formed a group that takes turns hosting parties where each takes a turn playing. Ron’s favorite song to play is the Irish folk song, “Danny Boy,” but he admits he’s no professional musician. “My wife excelled and I didn’t, but I love to hear it.”