I’ve been looking through an ethical lens at some of the COVID-era choices people make.

Have you ever heard the statement, “Do the right thing even when no one else is watching?” That is a statement about ethics.

Ethics are moral principles that govern a person’s behavior; they suggest we do the right thing even when doing the wrong thing is not illegal.

Laws surrounding COVID-19 are sparse. After all, it’s a relatively new phenomenon. Instead, various entities have established guidelines as recommendations on how to act.

Whether or not one conforms to these guidelines has a lot to do with a person’s ethical lens.

Let’s look at some ethical choices during COVID times.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the book “Live Smart After 50: The Experts’ Guide to Life Planning for Uncertain Times” that I co-edited and co-authored with 32 other experts in the field of aging.

It was a passion project for a few members of the Life Planning Network, a national organization of individuals working with, and writing about, older adults. I was president of the organization and saw the book as a vehicle to harness and disseminate all the great thinking our members had done.

I’m not sure any of us predicted a global pandemic as an example of an uncertain time, but the advice in the book is as fresh today as it was 10 years ago.

I looked back at some of our authors and wanted to share their groundbreaking work, as it may be even more relevant to our lives today.

The novel “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng keeps swirling in my mind these days because one of its basic themes is the conflict between rule followers and rule breakers that we see playing out in America today.

The story features two main characters, both women.

Elena has followed the rules her entire life and, as a result, has built a comfortable life for herself. She wonders what would have happened had she not been such a rule follower. But she believes “rules exist for a reason; if you followed them you would succeed. If you didn’t, you might burn the world to the ground.”

Mia, on the other hand, does not conform to social norms and lives a life of continuous relocation so that she can escape the consequences of her past actions. Mia never regrets breaking the rules. She sees it as necessary to stay true to her heart.

Whether one follows rules or breaks them is based on

Many of us will be missing our loved ones this holiday season.

In normal times, with busy schedules and families scattered across the country, holidays may be one of the few times families spend together.

We look forward to these special occasions all year long. These visits help to strengthen our family bonds and keep traditions going.

This holiday season, without COVID-19 under control, many of us are rethinking our get-togethers and already grieving in some ways the loss of this coveted occasion.

I’ve been thinking about my own family and how much I would like to see my mother back east. Because I don’t plan to visit, I’ve been considering things my family could do to share some of our traditions without actually being together.

As of September 2020, almost 13 million people in the United States were unemployed. Of course, a great deal of the job losses can be attributed to COVID.

I’m sure any one of us, including me, can name multiple people we know who are out of work as a result of the pandemic; half our staff here at Senior Concerns had to be furloughed due to the closure of our Adult Day Program.

In a post-COVID world, many industries will look different, and many jobs as well.

While having nothing to do with the pandemic, my husband lost his job several months ago. This was a bit of a shock. He is the main breadwinner in our family, and the loss of his job could cause quite a disruption in our lives if he were to remain unemployed for a long time.

Looking for a job during the pandemic seemed fraught with challenge.

Why do seniors turn out to vote more than any other age group?

Older adults, especially those that are no longer working, are particularly susceptible to changes in policy made by elected officials. A large percentage of their income and access to healthcare resources are tied to government programs.

It also helps that seniors have years of experience voting, are generally more familiar with the mechanics of how to vote and have more time to vote than younger voters.

The first presidential debate, which ran earlier this week focused on the records of President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, the economy, race and violence, and the integrity of the election.

These are important topics for the country at large, but let’s take a look

I was brought up in a household where we were taught to see the best in people. In most cases, giving folks the benefit of the doubt has served us well.

However, based upon a recent experience my mother had, I think being a bit more cautious, especially as we age, is warranted.

Because of her underlying risk of glaucoma, my mother visits the eye doctor every six months for a checkup. She had an appointment a few weeks ago.

After a temperature check, she proceeded to the registration desk to give her name. They told her she had a $25 copay, so my mother paid in cash.

A few moments later, 

It has been eight months since I’ve seen my mother. I miss her tremendously, but I do not think at this point it is safe to travel 3,000 miles by plane and rental car.

So I continue what I have been doing and make my morning phone call to my mother while I walk the dog.

A few years ago, when my dad was alive, we had plenty to talk about—doctor’s appointments, visiting nurse instructions, questions about his Parkinson’s and much more.

Up until the pandemic, we could talk about my mother’s daily activities, including time spent with her new great-grandbaby, excursions to the flower shop and visits with my sister and her children.

Now there is little to talk about. My mother’s life has become very quiet.

Due to COVID-19, my husband and I are at home a lot more these days. All that togetherness has given me time to reflect on how my husband and I manage change over time.

Of course, marriage created modifications in my lifestyle right from the start. Following in my mother’s footsteps, I felt responsible for having a home-cooked meal on the table each night. The house always needed to be clean enough for company. At least that is the standard I set for myself.

Early in our marriage I traveled all week for work. That left the weekends to do things. I suggested to my husband that I could cook for the week, or clean, but doing both would leave me no free time for us to enjoy together. He asked me which I preferred to do, and I said cooking.

I think some of us are surprised by what has become most important to us as a society over these past four months.

Take, for example, the most basic of our needs, something as simple as air and food.

Pre-pandemic we may have been worried about air quality if it was allergy season, but now being able to breathe virus-free air is of top priority.

Before COVID most of us may have considered grocery shopping a bit of a chore. However, now that it is elevated to an “essential activity” and permits us to leave our homes, we are eager to go to the supermarket.

In the early days of the coronavirus, shopping was like a scavenger hunt. Will today be the day I find yeast, flour or rice? Who knew how much we’d valued those items that we previously took for granted?