What Comes Next?

Bonnie Wyler is a Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the library. Read Bonnie's column in the February 1, 2018 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

When people think about retiring, their first thought is often, “Well, what will I do?”

Some people are eager to retire because the demands of their jobs become exhausting as they get older.  The elementary classroom teacher and the hospital nurse come to mind.  Even those who are looking forward to leaving their work are wondering what they will do.  This seems to be a universal question, whether one thinks about it long before retiring or after the actual transition from work to retirement.  In talking to a number of friends who have been retired for varying periods of time, I found a wealth of creative ideas for finding rewarding pursuits in this new phase of life.  Here are some of them:

Mindfulness is Everywhere

Bonnie Wyler is a Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the library. Read Bonnie's column in the February 2, 2017 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

When I was in my teens and twenties, it seemed to me that my parents worried about everything.  I was determined that I would never worry like they did when I grew older.  I would be calm and relaxed and take all of life’s ups and downs in stride.  Now I know better.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that worry and stress are my constant companions.  The challenges of work, parenting adult children, and aging, not to mention worrying about the state of the world, cause me stress from which I find it difficult to escape.  It appears I’m not the only one struggling with the stresses of 21st century living.  One researcher reported that 7 in 10 Americans suffer from physical symptoms due to stress, and 67% reported high levels of daily stress.  Given that ongoing daily stresses can contribute to serious health problems, as well as taking away from enjoyment of life, what can we do to manage our stress?  One answer is mindfulness.

New Technology Comes to the Library

Bonnie Wyler is a Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the library. Read Bonnie's column in the February 18, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

In early January, the power-adjusted table arrived at the library.  Within a week, it had been assembled and placed in the Reference Department, awaiting the remaining hardware and software that will make it a dedicated accessible workstation.   When the workstation is complete, it will provide the most up-to-date assistive technology available for library patrons who have vision loss or other disabilities.  Because we know that age-related eye diseases are a leading cause of vision impairment, meeting the needs of older patrons and others with vision loss is a growing priority for the library.

Answers to the Question Why

Bonnie Wyler is a Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the library. Read Bonnie's column in the February 5, 2015 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

I am known in my family of origin as the one who’s always asking questions, and

often too many.  The answer I often got was an exasperated, “WE don’t know!” 

Perhaps that is why I am drawn to books that answer the question “Why?”   Although

I love a good story I can lose myself in, at this point in my life I am more likely to

browse the nonfiction shelves of our library, looking for answers to questions about

health, nutrition, sleep and other quality of life topics.  I’m finding books that address

these questions in depth and satisfy my curiosity in the process.  Two of the topics

I’ve read about recently are memory and sleep.

Like most of us in middle or late middle-age, I wonder what has happened to my

memory.  These days I am making lists like crazy in order to remember important

appointments, errands, and my daily to-do list.  I can’t seem to remember anything for

The Power of Music

Bonnie Wyler is a Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the library. Read Bonnie's column in the June 5, 2014 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

I began playing the piano when I was nine years old, and very quickly found that playing music was an outlet for my emotions, feelings I could not have articulated but that I felt intensely when I played beautiful music.  There is something very powerful and life-affirming about expressing yourself in this way.  Recently I’ve found that other people in some very unlikely places are having this same experience.  One of the places is a garbage dump in Paraguay and the other is in the Republic of Congo in Central Africa.  These stories are from two of the poorest countries on earth, yet in each instance, the power of music allows people to transform their lives and find hope.

Quiet

Bonnie Wyler is a Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the library.  Read Bonnie's column in the September 6, 2013 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. 

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain is a book that I recently enjoyed immensely.  I was drawn to this title because I’ve always seen myself as an introvert, but didn’t know much about what that meant, and I thought of it as a failing.  I belong to a book group with only three people because I know from experience that I don’t talk in a larger group.  I feel awkward introducing myself in a group, even if I know most of the people there.  Like many introverts, I tend to feel bad about myself when I react this way.  In reading Quiet, I came to realize that these traits are a normal part of an introverted temperament, and that, in fact, there are distinct advantages to this undervalued personality type.  Interesting chapter headings in Quiet give the reader an idea of what lies ahead:

            “The Extrovert Ideal,”

            “Your Biology, Your Self? – Is Temperament Destiny?”

            “The Communication Gap: How to Talk to Members of the Opposite Type.”  

From the first page, I was drawn in by this beautifully written book, filled with interesting individual profiles and the latest research.

Literacy at the Library

Read Bonnie Wyler's column in the December 14, 2012 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. Bonnie is a Literacy/Outreach Librarian at the library.

Literacy has come a long way since the early 1900’s. The definition of literacy has been expanding because the world is constantly changing. A hundred years ago, being literate meant being able to sign one’s name. In the 1940’s, that definition had changed to being able to read at a 4th grade level. By the 1960’s, literacy was defined as having reading competency at an 8th grade level. In 1992, it was defined as “the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.” Today, being literate requires one to have new proficiencies in the use of technology and in thinking critically to solve problems.

My Life with Teddy

Read Bonnie Wyler's column in the March 17, 2012 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin or listen to the podcast on SoundCloud. Podcasts are archived on the Voices from the Library page of the library website. Bonnie Wyler is the Outreach/Literacy Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood.
From the Library - My Life With Teddy by Bonnie Wyler

Teddy came into my life as a 5 ½ pound bundle of fur in August 2008. My previous dog Wink had been gone for almost two years and I was ready for a new canine companion. Because I was approaching senior citizen status and had a full-time job, I told the Keeshond breeder that I wanted the most laid-back puppy in the litter. She assured me that with her 35 years of experience matching puppies with new owners, she would choose the right puppy for me. I knew I loved this breed. Keeshonds are sweet, playful, affectionate and intelligent. The “smiling Dutchman” as he is called, originated in Holland as a barge dog, bred as companion and watchdog for the captains of boats traveling the waterways in the countryside. I knew from previous experience with my Keeshond Wink that another puppy of this breed was what I wanted. Hoping to be well-prepared for the new arrival, I began reading about human-canine communication in a wonderful book by Patricia McConnell called The Other End of the Leash.

Driving home that day in August, I held Teddy on my lap while my friend Susan drove. He sat quietly for the two hour trip, looking up at me with his big brown eyes. We were off to a good start. For the first few days in his new home, he explored his surroundings, running in the yard, sniffing all the new smells, struggling to climb the two steps to my deck and tumbling down again. He was lively and curious, just what I expected from a new puppy. My sister Carol had told me how much I would love rocking him to sleep in the evenings when he was tired out. I looked forward to those peaceful moments.

My first clue that I was dealing with more than the usual puppy exuberance came that first week when my neighbor Sandy stopped by to see Teddy and show me the listing for a house she was looking at. As we sat on the grass studying the printout sheet, Teddy exploded out of nowhere like a bolt of lightning, grabbed the paper and made a mad dash around the yard. By the time we corralled him, the paper was in shreds. We laughed as Teddy jumped in and out of Sandy’s arms, impossible to contain. There was no question he was adorable, but laid-back? His activity level seemed to escalate by the day as he became more familiar and comfortable in his new home. And holding him in the evenings as he fell asleep in my arms? This was not to be. I began to realize I didn’t have the puppy I had bargained for.

That fall, as I struggled to provide the exercise and socialization all puppies need (and Teddy needed even more), my friend came to the rescue. She picked up Teddy one morning a week and brought him to her fenced-in backyard to play with her Jack Russell terrier, Jilly. For hours, the two dogs would run at breakneck speed from one end of the yard to the other. At some point, Jilly would grab Teddy’s collar in her teeth and pin him to the ground, his feet waving in the air. Teddy loved those playtimes. To this day, whenever I say “Jilly,” his ears go up and he races to the backdoor to look for his friend.

By then, I was reading in earnest, looking for any answers I could find to help me cope with my super active puppy. It was a two-pronged approach: knowledge for me and training for Teddy. I enrolled him in a puppy kindergarten class one evening a week. Of the five puppies in attendance, Teddy stood out as having the shortest attention span and greatest difficulty focusing. It was no wonder. He was on serious overload with four other dogs to smell, chase and jump on. After a beginning play period, the trainer worked on basic commands each week, with the canines and their humans practicing under her supervision. By the final session, while everyone watched, each pair attempted to walk in a figure eight, puppy healing on the left side. When it was our turn, the trainer came up to me and said quietly, “Why don’t you and Teddy just try a straight line?” Clearly we were at the bottom of the class.

As fall turned into winter and snow covered the ground, Teddy was ecstatic to be outside with me. As a northern breed, he was well-equipped for the cold weather and loved playing in the snow. He would race around the yard, tethered by a 30-foot lead attached to the deck. Each time he changed direction and hurled past me, I would jump to avoid being tripped by the lead. Unfortunately, my reaction time was no match for his speed. I found myself on the ground, stunned but unhurt, grateful for the soft landing in powdery snow.

I spent many of those winter evenings in the kitchen with Teddy. He was too crazy to keep me company in the living room, and too unhappy if I left him alone in the kitchen. We practiced his ball skills, bouncing and catching, over and over. And I read. A friend had told me about the books of Nicholas Dodman, an animal behaviorist and director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. I read Dogs Behaving Badly: an A to Z Guide to Understanding and Curing Behavioral Problems in Dogs, looking for sections that might help with leash biting, jumping, and extreme excitability. Of course, I realized that I was still dealing with the exuberance of puppyhood, but I wanted to be well-informed at the least. I found helpful suggestions in another book as well: The Well-Adjusted Dog: Dr. Dodman’s seven steps to lifelong health and happiness for your best friend. Who knew that dogs on average need at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day, and walking doesn’t count? I was intrigued by the drawing of a dog treadmill, suggested as especially helpful in the winter months.

Fast forward two and a half years to last summer. Teddy was still a challenge for me, but there’s no question we had bonded. There were moments when I was completely exasperated by his excessive energy and excitability, but I loved him and couldn’t imagine my life without him. One beautiful day in August we traveled to Chatham to visit friends, and by chance, went on a boat ride in the bay. As we motored out and then sped through the waves, Teddy sat motionless, staring out at the horizon. I had never seen him so peaceful and content. And then the lightbulb went on. He was a boat dog by nature, his breed serving those many centuries ago as barge dogs in Holland. He was in his element. Back on land, I couldn’t stop thinking about the power of instinct and genetics on behavior, and how I had just seen a totally different side of my dog.

I have found reading about dog behavior and the human-canine relationship fascinating. There are many excellent books on dogs and dog training at the Morrill Memorial Library and in the Minuteman Library Network, including several others by Patricia McConnell and Nicholas Dodman. If you wonder how dogs experience the world, pick up Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz. You’ll find ideas for children in 101 Fun Things to do with Your Dog by Alison Smith. For those who knit for their dogs, try looking at Men Who Knit and the Dogs Who Love Them by Annie Modesitt. If you would like to see a photograph of Teddy, you will find him in a READ poster in the Cushing Reading Room.

Interesting Lives Enriched by Books

Bonnie Wyler is the Outreach/Literacy Librarian at the Morrill Memorial Library. Read her column in the Norwood Transcript & Bulletin.

Since 1947, the Outreach Department of the Morrill Memorial Library has been delivering library materials to residents of Norwood who can’t come to the library because of special needs, illness or disability. One of the greatest pleasures of being an Outreach Librarian has been getting to know the many people who use the program and finding out about their lives. I’d like to tell you about two of our patrons whose experiences not only show us how important reading can be in an older person’s life, but whose lives themselves give us an interesting glimpse into the past.

Edna is 101. You may have read about her life in the May 27th Norwood Transcript article describing the Norwood Senior Center’s birthday party for those over 90. Born in England, Edna came to the U.S. in 1911 at 22 months of age. Her family is Jewish and she told me that her father who was from Edinburgh was bar mitzvahed in a kilt!

Edna recalls that times were very different then. In her entire childhood, she had only one doll. She grew up in the South End and remembers the ice man bringing blocks of ice to her house. Edna wasn’t a reader growing up, largely because there was no neighborhood library and books were expensive. As she got older, she would walk to the Boston Public Library whenever she needed to look up information for school. After graduating from high school, Edna did office work before marrying her husband Phillip. Shortly after she learned to drive the family Ford, she recalls coming to an intersection at the same time as a policeman on horseback, who reprimanded her by saying, “Don’t you know, horses have the right of way!”

Edna and her husband raised their daughter in West Roxbury before moving to Norwood in 1978. Reading was not a priority during the busy years of childrearing, or even later on when Edna was active in many clubs and organizations. During this period of her life, Edna and her husband traveled in the United States, though never abroad. Edna says that she became a reader by necessity in her 70’s because she needed something to occupy her mind as she got older. Now she loves to read books set in foreign countries – China, the Middle East, Afganistan – places she never traveled to, but can now visit via the books she reads. Even at 101, Edna still lives independently, cooks for herself, and maintains a lively interest in what’s going on in the world.

Another Outreach patron Grace, aged 82, has always loved to read. The youngest of nine siblings, Grace’s first language was French, which her parents spoke at home. But by the time she started school, she spoke both French and English. Grace attended Catholic schools in Salem where she grew up, and remembers that the nuns did not approve of her selection of books. She liked Dickens and Dumas, while they wanted her to read books about the saints or other religious topics. Her favorite book when she was young was The Count of Monte Cristo. Money was scarce because it was the depression and her mother told her not to spend money on books because she could always get them at the neighborhood library. She bought the book she wanted anyway. When she got in trouble with her mother, Grace said, “I know you will eventually stop being angry, and I will still have the book.” One of 19 students in her graduating class, Grace worked for Sylvania after high school and met her future husband at a dance. He was a science teacher in Westwood. They got married, moved to Norwood and had two daughters. There wasn’t much time to read when the children were growing up, although Grace did a lot of sewing, knitting and crocheting.

Grace has very definite tastes in books. She doesn’t like romance, war stories, science fiction or westerns. She loves mysteries, crime novels and “who dunnits.” . Grace reads so extensively in her favorite genres that she has devised a special system. She makes a very small squiggle on the back inside cover of every paperback she borrows from the library so she can remember which ones she has read. Grace says that books can take you everywhere and make you forget you’re alone. You can visit Paris, Istanbul, or anywhere in the world. Grace tells me she’d “go crazy with boredom” without books to read. Maybe the nuns from her early schooling had some influence after all because now her favorite reading is the Bible and books about faith, and she starts every day with devotional reading.

Edna and Grace are representative of the many people served by the Outreach Department, each of whom has a unique and interesting life story. They show us that it doesn’t matter when in your life you become a reader – it could be when you were a child or much later in life – and that books can play an essential role in keeping life stimulating and connecting you to the larger world. You probably know people like Edna and Grace who love to read and would enjoy having an Outreach volunteer bring them books and stop for a visit each month. We hope you will help us find these people so that they can enjoy the pleasures of reading. You can reach the Outreach Department by calling
781-769-0200, ext. 228.

There's Something for Everyone at Norwood's Library

Read Bonnie Wyler's entire column this week in the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

Excerpt:

" When I began working at the Morrill Memorial Library in 2001, I was struck by the unusual breadth and depth of the programs offered here.

Like many libraries, Norwood offers wonderful programs for children and adults in the community. In addition to these basic services, our library has two outstanding programs: Literacy and outreach, which address the needs of underserved populations in town.

The outreach program delivers library materials to residents of nursing homes and senior housing facilities, as well as to anyone unable to come to the library because of illness or disability.

The literacy program provides free tutoring to non-English speakers and people who wish to improve their language skills."

Bonnie Wyler is the outreach and reference librarian at Morrill Memorial Library.