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“Time has a way of showing us what really matters.” –Unknown I sat with Nora in her hospital room, watching her sign the last pages of her updated estate plan. She was worn out from a heart attack and several surgeries, and the doctors said there was nothing else they could do.
The Beatles thought they could create more time: “eight days a week.”
Mick Jagger sang that “time is on my side,” and who’s to argue with him still rocking and rolling at age 78.
She pushed past exhaustion to say goodbye to her three children and eight grandchildren. When they left, Nora looked up, her face sunken from lack of sleep and her lungs rattling, and whispered, “I thought I would have more time.”
Jim Croce collected time:
“If I could save time in a bottle The first thing that I’d like to do Is to save every day ‘til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you.”
Her words hit me hard. Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Don Henley sang, “There’s just so many summers, so many springs.”
Time is said to be infinite, yet we measure it in seconds, minutes, days, weeks, and years.
But “Seasons of Love,” from the Broadway play “Rent” says it all. It focuses on the number of minutes in a year (525,600 minutes to be exact).
But, that doesn’t really define time. Time is abstract — you can’t touch it or see it. Once it’s lost, you can’t recover it. So, what is time? It is really just our experiences and encounters all tied together. I asked Nora to tell me about some of her special times. She talked about working two jobs as a teenager to help her parents pay the bills, and her two younger brothers who taught her to love cars instead of ballet. She talked about Frank, the love of her life. She fondly recalled road trips out West in the mountains and laughed about their camping trip in the rainstorm and leaky tent. She swelled with pride as she talked about her children and grandchildren. Nora drifted off to sleep, her face creased with a slight smile, and I was left to wonder what Nora would have done if she had more time. I don’t think she would have wasted it.
“How do you measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in laughter, in strife?” Nope, none of those.
“In 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in the life: How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love.”
We all have 24 hours in a day — it’s how we use that time that matters.
My experience with Nora reminded me that we tend to think about time only when it becomes short. What it should teach all of us is that time is precious. It’s a gift not to be wasted. Tick, tock, tick, tock. What are you going to do to make the best use of your time? Don’t put off the truly important things or they will be on your mind one day when you are the one saying, “I thought I would have more time.”
I’m a big music fan, and plenty of songs deal with the concept of time.
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MichiganEstatePlans.com • 888.487.6150
The Importance of a Good Night’s Rest QUALITY SLEEP PROMOTES HEALTHY AGING
Eliminate unhealthy substances. Limit your intake of caffeine and sugar throughout the day — especially right before bed — for better rest. It’s also best not to drink anything about an hour before bed, so you don’t wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and disrupt your sleep. Regulate your sleep schedule. Keeping the same schedule for sleeping can reap immediate benefits. You will notice increased alertness during waking hours as well as enhanced memory and attention span. You may also start to feel tired around the same time every day, ensuring that you will actually go to sleep right on schedule. It can take time and patience to adjust to new habits to improve sleep, especially for the elderly. It won’t happen overnight, but the benefits that come with a better night’s sleep will have you feeling younger and healthier than ever before. If anything, you will feel more engaged and happier throughout your daily life.
Sleep is an essential part of our lives, but it becomes even more important as we get older, as it’s a necessity for healthy aging and staying energized. Ideally, everyone should sleep between 7.5–9 hours a night, but as we get older, this becomes much harder to achieve. Health complaints, minor disturbances, and a decrease in melatonin levels make it difficult for seniors to get a full night of sleep, which can cause irritability and fatigue. In order to combat these disturbances, here are a few things you can do to ensure you get enough sleep during the night. Build an active daily routine. Outdoor exercise and general movement every day is good for your body, but being outside and absorbing sunlight can balance and optimize your melatonin levels, which can help you fall asleep easier. On top of exercise, try weaving protein-rich snacks and meals into your routine. Foods like light meat and nuts can improve sleep quality, and dairy foods contain tryptophan, which is a sleep-promoting chemical.
Taking the Stress Out of Estate Planning
More often than not, estate planning is not something people look forward to. It can be confusing, stressful, and downright nerve-wracking. Estate planning involves a lot of important decisions — not to mention, nobody wants to think about passing away. Our firm’s primary focus is to make the estate planning process an easier one. We can provide insight to assist in structuring the plan in accordance with applicable laws and review the plan once it is put into place. This way, you can rest assured that everything you want and need to have included is present. It may also be beneficial to include other trusted individuals or family members in your estate planning process. This opens up the channels for greater communication between interested parties. Be sure to communicate your intentions with them and discuss what they want. Would they want to inherit the family business or your 1967 Mustang? Involving them in the process also ensures they know where and how to locate your estate plan in the event that they ever need it.
Another way to reduce the stress of the entire process is to gift your assets while you are alive and well. This way, you are not only reducing your estate and simplifying the administration, but you can also test out the waters a bit and see how your beneficiaries handle your passed-down assets. It is both satisfying and rewarding to see your loved ones enjoy what you want to give.
Estate planning is tricky, but by staying ahead of the game, you will know your intentions are flawlessly carried out.
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MichiganEstatePlans.com • 888.487.6150
Improving Your Life in a Big Way
Solution on Pg. 4
ENJOYING THE LITTLE THINGS
Helpful Resources • Is your estate plan up to date? Ask us about our FREE Estate Planning Check-up. Call our office or email Julie@mtolaw.com.
It always has been and always will be the little things in life that mean the most. Sure, lavish vacations, important occasions, promotions, or new jobs are fun and exciting, but taking a moment to appreciate the easily overlooked aspects of your day-to-day life is priceless.
So, how can we make sure we are prepared to enjoy all of the little things?
Don’t think of it as a cliché. We’ve all heard it before: “Enjoy the little things.” After the 20th time, the phrase seems meaningless. However, don’t think of it as just a saying, but instead, embrace the luxuries in your life that you often forget, like that feeling when you slide into your bed after a long day. Someone purchasing your coffee is a true act of kindness — be sure to be thankful and reflect upon it. Taking the time to feel gratitude, no matter how tiny the reason, can promote satisfaction even when things don’t turn out how you’d hoped. Wake up a tad earlier. While it sounds disgruntling to wake up even a minute earlier than you have to, giving yourself the extra time in the morning allows you to pay closer attention to the small things. Instead of focusing on problems or negativity in your life, appreciate all that is good while not having to rush through your morning to get to work on time. Get outside. Whether you take a walk or just sit outside, stepping out of your usual space allows you to take pleasure in your natural world. Not only does getting some fresh air relieve stress and promote positivity, but the sunlight can also boost your mood. Even if it’s just a walk around the block, taking the time to appreciate friendly neighbors, trees, pretty weather, or just your ability and freedom to roam is a great way to keep your thoughts in the present and awaken curiosity and creativity. The key is to not only notice them in retrospect. Get out there and see which of life’s small miracles you can embrace today!
• Don’t miss Glenn on “Senior Law
Radio,” WHMI FM 93.5 every Sunday at 8 a.m. You can also listen live (or to previous shows) on WHMI.com.
• Questions about your money? Do you need help with your financial goals, investment management, or retirement planning? Glenn has partnered with his personal financial advisor, Brad Jerome, to bring expert financial services to our clients. Brad meets with you right in our office — no cost, no obligation, and no pressure. Just an opportunity to discuss your goals with a top-notch financial advisor to see where your path might lead. You can reach Brad directly at 517.301.3070. • Let us be your trusted advisor for all your legal matters. We have grown with the referrals we receive from our clients. We want to return the favor by helping you find a great attorney outside the field of estate planning, elder law, and probate. Our clients often call us in need of an attorney who focuses on personal injury, auto accidents, elder and nursing home abuse, workers’ compensation, Social Security disability, and many other areas. To get the best results, you need an experienced attorney to help. If you want a referral, call our office or email Julie@ mtolaw.com. We are glad to help!
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MichiganEstatePlans.com • 888.487.6150
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MichiganEstatePlans.com • 888.487.6150 915 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 6 Howell, Michigan 48843
What’s Inside? 1
How Will You Spend Your Moment in Time?
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Quality Sleep Can Promote Healthy Aging
Estate Planning Made Easy
Making Room for the Little Things
Helpful Resources
Why an NYC Attraction Became Illegal
If you were an immigrant who just arrived to New York City in the 1880s, you probably didn’t have much money to spare. But, if you had at least 10 cents, you could rent a pushcart and become a pushcart merchant and business owner. For more than 50 years, pushcart markets in New York City offered immigrants immediate access to an $828 million industry (in today’s money) that sold competitively priced goods like groceries, household items, clothing, and much more. Pushcart merchants would line up their carts along the streets of New York City and create vibrant and diverse markets that even tourists could enjoy. But not everyone in the city seemed happy about it. Although technically “merchants,” in the late 1800s and early 1900s, pushcart sellers were not described as such. Many of New York City’s middle class and wealthy residents reserved this favorable term for sellers who had brick-and-mortar stores since they did not see pushcarts as a traditional means of honest work. Instead, they saw it as a public nuisance and a source of embarrassment. The 1930s and Pushcart Markets
Politicians, city planners, and anti-pushcart movements complained primarily about poor sanitation in the open-air markets. So, in 1938, Mayor La Guardia proclaimed in The New York Times that “peddling on the streets of this city is a thing of the past.” To ease opposition, La Guardia opened indoor markets, which required pushcart sellers to apply for limited spots and pay higher fines. Upon opening the first indoor market, Mayor La Guardia proclaimed to the crowd, “I found you pushcart peddlers, and I have made you MERCHANTS!” Despite the cheers that followed, thousands of pushcart sellers lost their jobs after the final ban of open-air pushcart markets. The ban surprised the people who supported it; some brick-and-mortar stores lost as much as 60% of their business with the decrease in nearby foot traffic. New Yorkers eventually became nostalgic about pushcart markets. Once described as dirty and a “menace to the health of New York City,” people began to describe them as “fresh and attractive,” even “picturesque.” To this day, pushcart selling is still illegal, and New York City’s licensing policies make it extremely difficult for vendors to obtain permits, leading to an underground black market of selling and buying outdoor permits. However, in the city, you’ll still find street food with hardworking vendors making their American dream a reality!
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