Do you remember playing as a child? Without work or obligations, you were free to wander around, use your imagination and indulge in things just for the sake of doing them. Play was relaxing and fun and brought joy to your days.

As adults, we have work, family obligations and other commitments. We become more serious and responsible. If we are not careful, we can become the grumpy old people we disdained when we were younger.

In that light, here are some things you probably haven’t done since childhood but might want to try again:

Eat a Popsicle

I loved banana popsicles as a child. I clearly remember my mother breaking apart the twin sticks and giving one each to my sister and me. When I saw banana popsicles in the grocery store recently, I had to buy a box.

I haven’t had one in many, many years. I took one taste – it was like summer on a stick! I discovered I still like them. While I won’t make these little treats a routine part of my ordinarily healthy diet, a little treat now and then is worthwhile.

Make a Handmade Card

Remember making homemade cards in school as a child? Every occasion, from May Day to Christmas was an occasion to break out the construction paper. The art of making a card was creative and satisfying and giving it to a loved one felt special.

A handmade card is still special. Get out your paints, or crayons, or scrapbooking materials and make a card. You will enjoy sending it and someone will enjoy receiving it. It is a win-win.

Spend a Whole Day Reading

There is nothing I like doing more than reading. I remember being a child who liked to sneak away and read a book all day in the back yard under a tree or under the covers with a flashlight. It felt indulgent then, and it feels even more so today.

After all, we have chores. We need to get things done. We have a lot of excuses for not allowing ourselves to indulge in a favorite pastime. Isn’t it about time we allow ourselves uninterrupted time to indulge in our passion? If not now, when?

Have a Tea Party

What child hasn’t lined up the stuffed animals or dolls and the occasional squirming younger sibling in order to have a tea party?

My grandmother had real tea parties, and as a child I loved to watch her with her friends enjoying tea, gossip and a homemade treat. Why not invite your friends over for a tea party? Get out the good china and make something special. You will be glad you did.

Collect Rocks

What is it about children and rocks? Most children like to pick up rocks, which, unlike sea shells, are available wherever you live. Children love to look at the colors and shapes and fill their pockets while taking a walk. Why not try picking up a few rocks yourself?

You can make it a game, looking for a pretty color or an interesting shape. It will cause you to live in the moment and pay attention to your surroundings. When you get them home, you can classify them if you’re interested or take a marker and write inspirational words or quotes on them.

Sit Outside and Watch the Fireflies

Do you take time to sit quietly in nature and enjoy special attractions like fireflies or humming birds? Do you pay attention to the little toad that lives in your garden or the friendly chipmunk that climbs across your fence every morning?

If not, go outside and see what you can observe. The beauty in nature reminds us to slow down and be calm. It’s good for the blood pressure – and the soul!

Make a Fairy Garden

When I was a child, I liked to make pretend fairy houses and fairy gardens. I don’t think I ever stopped believing that maybe a fairy would come.

As an adult, I bought a house that came with a little wooden storage shed. I imagined it was a fairy house and so that is what I turned it into. Now it delights children and adults.

Garden centers and hobby shops carry an array of fairy garden accoutrements – not unlike doll house furnishings. You can indulge your imagination and creativity and create something magical. If you have a child to share it with, it is all the better!

Make a Collage

I remember first making collages in my elementary school art classes. I always loved the process of tearing pictures and words out of a magazine and artfully arranging them into a new design.

Today, vision boards have become popular. They are a type of collage except that you collect pictures or words symbolizing things you would like to do or become in the future.

No matter what type of media you use – magazine pictures like I do or your own art or fabric – collages are fun and a great way to express yourself.

Eat Junk Food at a Baseball Game

As a child, you could indulge in junk food on a whim. If you were lucky enough to attend a baseball game, you probably ate hot dogs, super-sized pretzels and cotton candy. It was part of the experience. As adults, most of us are much more careful about what we eat.

That is not to say that we can’t try special food in special places. I discovered that a hot dog, which I had not tasted in many years, tasted wonderful. I found that the cotton candy, a favorite as a child, was far too sweet for me now. What will you discover?

Play in the Sand

I’ve never met a child who didn’t like to play in the sand. They don’t mind getting their hands or feet dirty. Children will make castles or make roads and tunnels to fill with buckets of water. If you are lucky enough to be able to go to a beach, why not indulge in the sand?

Make a castle or just walk barefoot along the beach. Write a message in the sand and send a picture of it to someone, or just leave it for someone else to find. Nothing will make you feel like a child more than a little time playing in the sand.

None of these activities is extremely time consuming and all of them can be done for free or very inexpensively. Give yourself permission to be a little playful and silly. Have fun, relax, and enjoy the moment. It is a great way to relive your favorite childhood activities and release a little stress at the same time.

What childish passion have you indulged in as an adult? I would love to hear your stories in the comments below.

You’re afraid of breaking a hip when you fall. You’re saying good-bye to dear friends, who’ve lost their battle with cancer. You worry if you’re forgetting words like you always have, or if it’s becoming a pattern.

You do what you can to stay optimistic. You look for what you can control. You exercise. You focus on staying connected with people and being active. You do Sudoku and read voraciously.

Then, someone in your community commits an act of terror, or you watch vicious violence occurring in the streets. Whether it seems due to religion, race, hatred, fear or lack of conscience, your view of the world can become frightening.

Trauma’s Reach via the Media

All you have to do is hear about it. Imagine it. Especially if you’ve had any psychological or emotional trauma or abuse in the past, your sensitivity to violence may be greater than normal.

After 9/11, I helped patients who couldn’t get the falling buildings, smoke, or people jumping to their deaths out of their minds. And they lived nowhere near New York City. They had only watched it on TV.

You can begin having nightmares or flashbacks, which are symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. You can become very anxious, and never go to movie theaters or malls. Your life can become smaller and smaller. When this becomes severe, it can develop into agoraphobia, literally a “fear of the marketplace,” which pragmatically means you don’t leave your home.

Coping with Trauma through Engagement

Many people will not develop these symptoms. Most find a way of coping. Yet even in the best cases, innocence may vanish, and trust in others become diminished.

What can you do? It’s important, because connection and engagement with others has been consistently shown to fend off not only depression, but a myriad of other problems as we age. Isolation is not your friend.

Reid Wilson, an American expert on anxiety, states, you have to change what you’re thinking in order to manage your fear. Although it may seem counterintuitive, you don’t wish the fear or anxiety away. You have to manage it. Work with it.

Other than medication, here are some ways to manage anxiety and not allow fears to govern your life.

Engaging in Mindfulness and/or Meditation Practice

Just a few minutes of meditation a day can make a huge difference in your ability to detach from your anxiety. There are guided meditation apps like Headspace or 10% Happier that can help you practice.

Seeking Therapy

There are many techniques to deal with anxiety. CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, or EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy, are two that immediately come to mind. Therapy offers a supportive relationship, where you can discuss your fears and gain more perspective on them. Whatever anxiety you have, you can practice slowly confronting it.

Exercising Away Stress

Decreasing anxiety is just one of the bountiful benefits of getting moving. Aerobic exercise, where you work up a good sweat, is a wonderful stress reliever.

Keeping your Perspective

What you focus on can become more real in your own mind. And if you only focus on painful things, then you can stay sad or overwhelmed. A vital skill to living well is “compartmentalizing,” meaning that you are able to put painful feelings or experiences away, to box them up so to speak, so that you can focus on other, more important or enjoyable things in the present moment. When you have the time to work through those feelings, you get that “box” down again.

Creating through Music, Art or Gardening

Creating your own beauty, being involved with building something or growing something can be a wonderful antidote to worry and fear. Whether it’s planting a garden, being in a play, or learning how to sculpt, there is something calming about creation. It can provide balance.

Talking with Others

We all have our own little bit of wisdom. Talking with friends about how they’re handling getting older, or any anxiety they may have about the state of the world can help you widen your own understanding, and gain a new attitude or idea.

Helping Others

If you’re involved with efforts in your church or your community to help those in need, it gives you a sense of purpose. And that very purpose can keep your thinking and attitude more positive. When you see and are involved in making positive change in your own world, it can counteract a sense of futility or despair.

What strategies do you use to face your fears and worries? How do you cope with viewing negative and traumatic events in the media? Have you been able to connect with others to share experiences? Please share and connect in the comments.

The question I hear most often when I’m
talking with people who are in the middle of a major downsizing or are getting
ready to downsize is, “How can I get rid of things that are very, very
important to me?”

For example, “How can I get rid of the chest that my mother spent months and months refinishing and making absolutely beautiful?” Or “How can I part with all those children’s books that I spent hours reading to my kids?”

And I totally agree; this can be so hard. Just
thinking about it can cause a pain deep inside.

When people ask me this question, I say that if
there will be space in the new place for all the “really treasured things,”
then by all means, keep them. But what if there won’t be enough space?

What if paying several hundred dollars a month to rent an external storage unit to hold the things just seems unwise? There may be better uses for that money right now.

Yes, It Can Be Hard

I went through a major downsizing several years ago, and it was accompanied by many difficult feelings, as I explain in my book The Upside of Downsizing: Getting to Enough. Like many of the people I talk to, I had several treasured things that really hurt to let go of.

I had several pieces of
furniture that my mother had lovingly restored, and they were gorgeous. I had
braided wool rugs that she had made, and when I looked carefully, I could see
traces of skirts I had worn in high school. And on and on.

And I knew I would not have
space for any of those things. So, all of them went out. Was it painful? Very. Have
I come to a place of peace when I think about it? Yes. How can we get there?

What Can Help?

A friend of mine recently told
me that the mutual love she had shared with her mother had helped her to come
to peace with selling some of her late mother’s treasured belongings.

When that deep love really
seeped into her core, she was able to let go of many treasured things. I’ve
thought about that a lot, and I believe that peace comes when we realize what’s
important are the deep feelings of love, not the place settings, or whatever. A
plate, after all, is just a plate.

I think it also helps to be
thoughtful about where the items go. Going back to the children’s books, it
might be easier to part with them if you give them to a local grade school or
kindergarten that probably doesn’t have the funding to buy many books.

Just imagine the delight on the
faces of the children who may never have held such a colorful, shiny book!

When I was able to sell some of
the beautiful pieces my mother had restored to neighbors who were delighted to buy
them, I felt happy that they knew the history of the pieces and would lovingly
take care of them.

The same has been true for
several items that I gave to friends. I love seeing these things in their homes
where they are being well used.

For the Kids

It’s also important to look
through all the things you may be “saving for the kids.” In my conversations
with people who have downsized, one very common theme emerges: “the kids don’t
want anything.”

If you’re in the situation of
“saving things for the kids,” it’s probably worth checking with them to make
sure they want those items. If they do, they need to take them as soon as
possible. And if they don’t, then it’s time to find a new home for treasured
things that you don’t have a room for.

In those scenarios you need to
protect yourself from being “doubly hurt.” Once, you suffer from parting with
your loved possessions, and once you suffer because your kids don’t cherish or
want those things that have been so important to you.

But keep in mind they live “their
life,” and you need to let it go.

Some Support Can Help

The whole process of letting go
of treasured things can be very painful. I know. I’ve been through it. It may
help to ask a good, caring friend to sit with you as you think about the things
you’re going to need to part with. You may also consider talking with a
downsizing coach.

Finally, knowing that you have a
choice will ease the parting. It’s often helpful to say to yourself, “I have a
choice here. I can find a way to lovingly let go of this item or I can live
with the consequences of holding on to it.”

When we really focus on what it will
mean to hold onto whatever it is, we may realize that things once valued will
not serve us anymore. And we can find a good, new home for them. This is not
easy, but it is our choice.

What is your greatest fear when
it comes to downsizing? Do you have special items you’d like to keep but have
no room for? Have you considered parting with them? Please share your
downsizing stories with our community.

As we age, it becomes increasingly important to keep a close eye on our bodies and health. Utilizing Medicare preventive services can help you stay healthy by discovering and treating medical issues before they become unmanageable.

Preventive services help prevent major health concerns before it is too late. In addition to discovering health issues of which you may be unaware, utilizing Medicare preventive services also drastically helps reduce the amount you spend on healthcare each year.

The earlier the discovery, the earlier treatment can begin. Thus, in most cases, you can return to your regular day-to-day routine sooner.

If you’re on Medicare but haven’t been utilizing Medicare preventive services, what are you waiting for? Below, we help you understand which Medicare preventive services may benefit you and how to get started today!

Your First Step to a Healthy Future: The Annual Wellness Exam

Each calendar year, Medicare pays for one annual wellness exam from the physician of your choice. This visit is to ensure that you are up-to-date on your screenings, ensure that no pre-existing health conditions have progressed and that no new health conditions have arisen.

When you attend your annual wellness exam, you should bring the following:

• Insurance cards
• Medical record
• Family history
• A list of all your health care providers
• A list of all medications/supplements you take
• Any questions/concerns you have

Attending your Medicare annual wellness visit is the most effective way to alleviate future health concerns while under Medicare. By attending this yearly visit, you are being proactive with your health and utilizing Medicare benefits to rule out any concerns that may become a major issue in the future.

During your Medicare annual wellness exam, you can expect to receive appropriate screenings, vaccines, a routine checkup, review your family medical history, and more. The purpose of this visit is to examine your health in its entirety and rule out any future health concerns.

What Major Health Concerns Can Medicare Help Prevent?

Utilizing Medicare’s preventive services program during your annual wellness visit can help reduce your risk for several health conditions. These include:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Breast cancer
• Cardiovascular disease
• Cervical cancer
• Colon cancer
• Diabetes
• Glaucoma
• Lung cancer
• Obesity
• Prostate cancer
• Other types of cancer
• And more!

Many major health issues may lay dormant in your body and can only be detected by screenings and exams. Without utilizing your preventive services benefit, you could be unknowingly living with a pre-existing condition. While this may not cause a major issue now, it could become a more significant health concern due to a lack of proper care.

A major benefit to utilizing Medicare preventive services comes from the various cancer screenings at your annual wellness visit. While many cancers are undetectable until they become more significant, your physician will utilize all channels to rule out cancer whenever possible.

How Early Indication Through Medicare Can Lead to Successful Recovery

If you seek treatment at the early signs of a medical issue or even before it becomes a problem, you are more likely to receive a favorable outcome than if you wait. Utilizing Medicare preventive services is one of the many benefits of being on Medicare.

Don’t live through your retirement in fear of a medical concern. Live confidently, knowing you can use Medicare preventive services to care for your health.

Have you utilized your Medicare Annual Wellness Exam? Did you know that this exam was included in your Medicare coverage? Do you plan on utilizing this benefit each year?

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, STYLECASTER may receive an affiliate commission.

We told you back in December 2021 how good K18 is. The Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask works to repair strands and protect them from chemicals (like bleach) and heat (like all those hot tools). Since then, it’s gone viral on TikTok and Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson became fans. That’s why we’ve been waiting for the perfect complimentary shampoo. And we just got two. K18 shampoo just launched in both and everyday and detoxifying options.

First, let us explain what K18 does. Although K18 calls its hero product a mask, you don’t wash out the Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask. It’s not like a typical conditioning mask but you do use it in place of your conditioner. The patented bioactive peptide treatment strengthens and improves the elasticity of the hair, as well as works to actually reverse damage. It’s lightweight so you don’t have to worry about it weighing down your hair. In fact, you’ll probably still need a leave-in conditioner. The formula repairs strands over time, but you’ll still see a difference in the look and feel of the hair in just one use.

Photo: K18.

To prep your hair to make this repairing mask work as well as possible, you can now use either the Peptide Prep pH Maintenance Shampoo ($36 at Sephora) or the Peptide Prep Clarifying Detox Shampoo ($38 at Sephora). It depends on what your hair needs that day.

K18.

Use Detox Shampoo when you need more of an intense clean. Get rid of all that dry shampoo, oil and sebum with activated charcoal and salicylic acid. The brand recommends using this one 1-2 times per week.

K18.

On the flip side, use pH Maintenance Shampoo any time you wash your hair. It will still deeply cleanse but also protect hair’s natural moisture levels.

Here’s how you use both products. First, shampoo with either option. Then, towel dry your hair. Apply the mask to your hair and wait four minutes. Then, style as usual with whatever leave-in products you’d like, such as styling creams and heat protectants. It’s a bit of a process but it’s worth the effort — trust us.