Grand Plans: December 21, 2023
A semi-monthly newsletter from Grand Plans designed to normalize and celebrate our glorious geri-destiny through information, stories, real talk conversation, smart planning and shared experience.
Geri-news you can use
In this last issue of the year, we’re going to focus on giving, and this article from the Administration for Community Living is a great place to start:
From self-expression to self-direction, there are countless ways for older adults to stay engaged and give back to others at the same time. Some of the most rewarding ways to express yourself and contribute to your community involve passing on experiences, wisdom, and skills to the generations that follow.
Everyone has something to share, and these ideas can help get you started.
Mentor. Use professional or personal experiences to guide a child, young adult, or even a peer. Example: Visit Senior Corps at nationalservice.gov to learn about becoming a foster grandparent.
Volunteer. Put skills to use while giving back to your community.
Example: Sign up to collect food/clothing donations, serve meals at a local soup kitchen, or help older friends with daily tasks at home such as paying bills.
Teach. Impart expertise via formal or informal education and tutoring opportunities.
Example: Check with local schools that may need reading, math, or science tutors.
Speak. Sign up for speaking engagements, paid or unpaid, as well as storytelling events.
Example: Open-mic events, often at theaters and libraries, welcome speakers of all ages.
Engage. Visit a senior center or organize a gathering focused on connecting with others.
Example: Book clubs attract participants of all ages and encourage the exchange of ideas.
Write. Pen an article, op-ed, or even a book to communicate wisdom and lessons learned. Example: Start with something you know the most about, such as a career, hobby, or historical event, and submit a column to your local newspaper.
Create. Pick a medium and use art to express yourself and share your perspective.
Example: Paint, draw, sculpt, play music, dance, make crafts – whatever suits you.
Looking for more ideas? Visit https://oam.acl.gov/ any time for resources and inspiration. And here are a few other ideas on cool places to volunteer.
(Bonus holiday relevancy tip: And for the LOVE of all things holy, do your very best to avoid Whamaggedon while spending time with your loved ones around the tree this season.)
Geris-prudence
A Foley & Lardner attorney shares the lowdown on the increased gift and estate tax exemption amounts for 2023:
“The gift tax annual exclusion and the gift and estate tax exemption increased significantly for 2023. Effective January 1, 2023, the following amounts may be helpful in considering estate planning options for the new year:
Gift Tax Annual Exclusion – $17,000 (increased from $16,000).
Gift and Estate Tax Exemption – $12.92 million (increased from $12.06 million). Read the rest of the piece in the link above.
Fit as a fiddle
Even the fittest and most athletic of us face cognitive issues at some point in life, no matter what we eat, don’t drink or strengthen. This change-making donation truly is a gift for future generations, something to noodle this season!
The grand sum
Speaking of future generations and gifting and planning, family meetings may be the key to preserving family wealth and engaging in healthy communication with your brood, according to this article from Bessemer Trust.
“Successfully preserving wealth across generations is not easy. Transferring values is even harder. Many wealth creators have suffered the heartbreak of seeing their money and family cohesiveness diluted after only one or two generations. Other families have created positive, enduring legacies that persist into third, fourth, and fifth generations.
What have the successful families done so differently? In our experience, these families have prepared wealth for the next generation through thoughtful planning, but they have also prepared the next generation for the wealth through a series of thoughtful family meetings.
In this A Closer Look, we discuss how a well-designed family meeting may help to create an atmosphere of trust, strengthen relationships, and instill a value system that will persist across generations.”
…Or maybe education is the gift that keeps on giving. Read about how 529 investments, or college savings plans, can make a difference in the lives of young people you love.
Lastly, enjoy this quick read/listen on American philanthropy by the numbers. There’s no doubt we the people love to give — and by so doing, create legacies that last!
Podcast News: Grand Plans Season 3
Season 2 of the Grand Plans podcast is ovah, but we are looking toward Season 3 with tremendous enthusiasm! Do you know a professional, expert or friend with a personal story to share about the senior experience? Let’s get them on the podcast for an interview that can help others navigate a complex time.
Things I’m prattling on about today
This is my great grandmother Pennye Britt Person as I remember her in her 90s, after someone surprise-cracked a cascarone on her head one Easter in Goliad, TX long ago. Mama Pennye was fond of tricksters and had a remarkable sense of humor punctuated by a firecrackily “heeeee-heeeee!!” kind of laugh response to pretty much anything, whether it was funny or not.
She lived in a mint green duplex in Karnes City, TX most of her life, served up sweaty cold Orange Fanta sodas and Planters Cheese Balls on when we came to visit and kept her door key hidden in a Miracle Whip jar in her front hedge. She wore a clunky hearing aid box around her neck because she had been nearly deaf since her adolescence. In retrospect, she didn’t have much to laugh about because there wasn’t much funny about her life. She grew up in a wealthy ranch family that lost it all. She married a handsome young man named Val, who died of yellow fever in his early 20s just after he and Pennye had their first and only baby, my grandfather, Robert. Deaf and poor and alone, Pennye contended with some serious odds. And while she reveled in and heeee-heeee’d with family for 104 years, she spent her last decade in a small-town nursing home because that’s all there was.
Pennye never lost her sense of humor, or her toss-the-mayo-jar-in-the-bushes-and-off-we-go grit.
When I think about Mama Pennye and what I learned from her, I always get back to her sun-lit wintergreen kitchen —where I can feel the hot breath of a South Texas breeze idling through an open window by the icebox. I think of those two dripping, ice-cold Orange Fantas and the cheese ball pairing she put on the kitchen table for my brother and me — how she heeee-heee’d to herself how much we’d probably enjoy that after a 1.5-hour car ride from San Antonio in the station wagon way back. I remember screaming “THANK YOU, MAMA PENNYE!!!!” into her bosoms loud and clear. And I’ll never forget how she was always happily ready for what was next — when she’d pick up her boxy little suitcase, lock the front door and toss that damn jar into the bushes, ready for our one-hour road-trip to Goliad for the weekend.
Geri-lesson: Have a sense of humor about most things and look for ways to connect with the young people in your life is such a GIFT.
Shelf Life
Don’t forget. Grand Plans is launching in San Antonio, TX (about 1.5 hours away from Karnes City, btw!) on February 3 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at The Twig bookstore, another great place to keep your dollars local! If buying locally isn’t an option, visit www.mygrandplans.com for links to purchase on Amazon. Grand Plans: How to Mitigate Geri-Drama in 20 Easy Steps is the perfect gift, for the giver and receiver. Thanks for your support!
Shared experience
We can all learn from each other’s geri-scary moments. What are some of your takeaway lessons? What have you promised yourself you’ll never do to your loved ones? What worked for you? What didn’t? More conversation and story-sharing helps elevate the geri-experience for all of us. If you want to share your grand tales, email susannabarton@me.com and I’ll put them in an upcoming newsletter. Here’s today’s Shared Experience:
“I have a million more stories- getting old sucks. Big lesson I will try to remember when my kids put us in “the home” is that they love us and want what’s best.”
— Anonymous
Some golden gedunk and goods
If you order quickly, there’s a decent chance you’ll get these last-minute gifts under your tree before December 25. Here are a few “just buy it already” stocking stuffer and gift ideas for the older adults in your life:
This highly-rated digital photo frame lets you upload rotating pictures to your senior’s living room.
A 100 percent cashmere throw will keep any aged loved one cozy this holiday and beyond.
And a snuggly fleece poncho gets two thumbs up from this cold blooded 50-plusser.
Also, these conversation starter cards would be a great activity for grand-bonding and entertainment during that holiday gathering.
Check out our Grand Plans merch in our new Etsy storefront.
