Classes
Fearless Aging
The Day After Retirement
You may not have a choice about aging but you do have a choice about how you approach growing older. What better way than fearlessly? Fearless aging is the power to positively impact your future. This class explores the normal, natural processes of aging—physical and lifestyle--and what you can do to markedly improve the quality of your life. Discover what you can expect and lifestyle choices that will help you make the most of what you’ve got as you age. Let’s explore the inevitable forces of change in your life and be fearless!
The Day After Retirement
The Day After Retirement
What will your life look like once you don’t answer the call of the alarm clock? What can you do in advance to plan for a positive transition into retirement? Having a sense of purpose is an important key to satisfaction. Change is inevitable. How to put your arms around the changes inherent in retiring and grow is the focus of this class. It will help you explore a variety of ways to identify what is significant to you, then establish a purpose-filled life in retirement.
Fifty Plus Travel--Sharing the Wisdom
Travel is high on many people’s retirement list. How do you decide where, when and how to go? What resources are available on the web? Whether you are experienced and widely travelled or will be new to the world outside your backyard, talking with others is a valuable resource that should not be overlooked. This class will provide some basics on using internet travel sites and tour groups, as well as encouraging group input on personal travel experiences to share the wisdom.
Staying Connected
Your job offered social relationships just because you showed up. Research says that good relationships are critical to healthy aging. How do you rebuild relationships that may not have been given much attention while you were working? Where do you look to develop new relationships and social communities? This class will discuss a variety of ways that retirees can stay socially connected, including seeking volunteer opportunities.
Downsizing: Not For the Faint of Heart
How do you decide when to make one of the biggest moves of your life--giving up your family home and downsize for the remainder of your years? This class will explore the many, complicated emotions involved with the decision to downsize, followed by the "nuts and bolts" of where to live, what comes with, what remains behind. Talking with adult children about your decisions is also important, especially since it's said they don't want our stuff! Join others also considering a move to share ideas, thoughts and concerns as you move through this critical phase of life.
Are You Ready To Create Your Health Care Directive?
Who would speak for you if you couldn’t speak for yourself? That’s the concept behind Advanced Care Planning, a guided conversation on about your end of life wishes and preferences. It is a process that identifies what is most important to you concerning quality of life and living. This class will prepare you to develop a Health Care Directive, a written document which describes your choices. AN EXCELLENT REVIEW FOR THOSE WHO ALREADY HAVE A HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE. Mary is a Certified First Steps Advanced Care Planning Facilitator, certified through Honoring Choices Minnesota.
NEW Classes...
Stress Management for the 50+ Crowd
Exit Strategy: Conversations for the End of Life
(Can You Avoid) Parenting Your Parents
Somewhere down life's road, you figured that the older you got, the less stress you would have. Funny how things don't always turn out that way! What are your stressors now? Are you handling them as well as you could? Managing our stress is critical for the healthy life we all want to lead. This class will encourage you to not just identify the stress factors in your life, but also discover effective ways of dealing with them.
(Can You Avoid) Parenting Your Parents
Exit Strategy: Conversations for the End of Life
(Can You Avoid) Parenting Your Parents
As you and your parents age, there is some inevitability that you will assume a caregiving role. Many find themselves in a situation where they feel as if they are acting as parents to their parents. Open communication and conversation well in advance of inevitable aging issues can help keep you from parenting your parents. This class will provide suggestions to open discussions about age-related topics with your parents, as well as what information you will need to have from your parents in order to assist them through the later stages of their lives.
Exit Strategy: Conversations for the End of Life
Exit Strategy: Conversations for the End of Life
Exit Strategy: Conversations for the End of Life
It's been said that two things are inevitable in this life: death and taxes. As we grow older, we become increasingly concerned with the prospect of our death. What do you need to have in place as you approach your "sell by" date? What effect and impact can we have on a good end of life? And who do we need to talk with in order to carry out our wishes? This class will explore what we reasonably can influence when it comes to the end of our lives and with whom we might want to talk with about our hopes.
About Mary
Lifelong Community Educator
Mary began her work as a Community Educator with a local non-profit, teaching childbirth education classes. Assisting adults during this transition encouraged her to leave the high school classroom and focus on helping families. She spent her career as a Licensed Parent Educator at the Edina (MN) Family Center; Coordinator, then Manager of Youth and Family Services Programs at St. Louis Park (MN) Community Education; Director of Community Education for the Hastings (MN) Public Schools.
Accomplished Facilitator and Public Speaker
Mary's speciality is working with others so that they can make a difference, either in their own lives or with others they work with. She has developed curriculum; influenced philosophical changes in the workplace and, most importantly, listened carefully to address the needs of those with whom she works.
Personal
Mary and her husband, Dan live in the west Metro suburbs of Minneapolis. Retired from her educational administration position, she is greatly enjoying her own Road Next Taken. In her presentations, she utilizes both research and her life experiences to create meaningful and connected learning environments. Mary is passionate about helping others live a very good life to the very end. She and Dan are blessed to have their four adult children and spouses, as well as their eight incredibly adorable grandchildren, live nearby in the Twin Cities.