Ellen Greene

On the Road in Mexico

Newly uncovered ruins outside San Miguel de Allende

By Ellen Greene
hello@ellengreene.org

In my last post, I lamented my not getting out there and traveling as much as I say I would like. Well, I haven’t booked a flight to Buenos Aires yet, but I did take some baby steps by driving around Central and Western Mexico with a friend the past few weeks. We stopped in Lagos de Moreno, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Patzcuaro, and Morelia on the first leg, then Mascota, Talpa, and Tapalpa on the second.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” more than one person asked when they heard of my plan. Holdups and random acts of violence permeate the news from Mexico.

When your habits surpass your dreams

By Ellen Greene
hello@ellengreene.org

The other night I was watching a movie called “The Life of David Gale.” Kevin Spacey as Gale uttered a line that made me push pause and grab my notebook. 

“There comes a moment when your habits surpass your dreams,” he said. 

Have I reached that moment? I wondered. Have my lethargy and lack of productivity turned into dream killers? Am I trying to convince myself that I am content to go for a morning walk, sit on my porch reading blogs and sending emails, piddle in the kitchen with recipes and dinner, watch a little TV, and then call it a day?

Five Wishes

By Ellen Greene
hello@ellengreene.org

Many of us boomers stick our heads in the sand when it comes to our death and dying. Our children can be even worse, refusing to discuss the inevitable, calling it gruesome, unnecessary, premature. As if somehow all of us will know what to do when the time comes -- our wishes clear, our kids of one mind.

Fourteen million people around the world, including me, have replaced such wishful thinking with our own “Five Wishes.” Combination living will and health care power-of-attorney, this document is approved by the American Bar Association as an advance directive and meets all legal requirements in 42 U.S. states (the remaining eight states require an additional state form). It is thorough, thoughtful, and an excellent way to jump-start a discussion with family and friends about how we want to be treated at the end of our life. (Download form here.)