Make 2009 the year you decide to live better

People make the same resolutions every year: to enjoy life more, to be healthy and physically fit, to spend more time with family, and to learn something new. This year, why not keep them all by focusing on just one: a better retirement.

Moving consultant helps them pare down

Linda Omohundro has a message for people who’ve surrounded themselves for decades with collections of things they love and now have decided to downsize. "Start early," she says. "Don’t put it off. If you aren’t physically using it, pack it up today!"

As soon as they heard one another’s southern accents, "We knew we were kindred spirits," says Mary Ankrom.

For weeks now, seasonal lyrics have filled the halls at Erickson retirement community campuses around the country. The snippets of melody herald upcoming faith-related and nondenominational holiday performances like the following events at Linden Ponds, near Boston, and Eagle’s Trace, in Houston. Similar programs will debut at Hickory Chase next year.

This future Hickory Chase resident is no couch potato

Following her husband’s sudden death last December, "I knew I had to get out of this huge house," says Jo Skipton, "but I wanted to think it through."