Broadband Benefit Program to help pay Internet expenses for eligible households
Visit the library of your memories
The Federal Communications Commission has launched an Emergency Broadband Benefit Program to help households struggling to pay for Internet service during the pandemic. This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, and virtual classrooms. The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a onetime discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, a desktop computer, or a tablet from participating providers by contributing $10 to $50 towards the purchase price. The Emergency Broadband Benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household. A household is eligible if one member of the householdqualifies for the Lifeline program, receives benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision or did so in the 2019-2020 school year, received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year, experienced a substantial loss of income since Feb. 29, 2020, the household had a total income in 2020 below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers, or meets the eligibility criteria for a participating providers’ existing low-income or COVID-19 program. The program has been authorized by the FCC, but the start date hasn’t been established. The FCC is working to make the benefit available as quickly as possible. Please continue to check fcc.gov for updates.
n my first postvaccination road trip, I had a most enjoyable weekend visiting my siblings. It felt especially good to see each other after a full year of no in-person visits. As always, we did a fair amount of remembering and telling stories from the past. Stories about our parents and other relatives are told and retold whenever we get together. I’ve been reading and reflecting lately about the powerful importance of memories. As we age, the library of our memories grows ever larger. Memories are an aspect of the soul that shape our personhood. To have total amnesia would be to lose our very identity. To draw on our memories and reflect on their meaning is to know ourselves more deeply. Shared memories root us in our communal
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history and culture. Aging provides a time for visiting the library of our memories and integrating them into ourselves. This integration process is a source of peace and at-homeness with who we have become. This includes remembering the joyous times and the difficulties of our lives. To bring up memories of the happy times, such as weddings, births, vacations, successes, or anything that makes us smile, is a way of reigniting the joy within us. As St. Paul said, “Whatever is true, whatever is good, whatever is worthy of praise, think on these things.” By integrating these past blessings into our daily thinking, we continue to reap their benefits. The painful memories of hurts, losses, failures, and difficulties also require integration. None of us escapes the need for healing from the low points in our past. In some cases,
Conscious Aging By Nancy Hemesath
therapy may be required. More often, we can rely on our soul’s natural healing process. By attending to regrets in a gentle, compassionate way, we can find it in our hearts to forgive others, and more importantly to forgive ourselves. Instead of blaming others or ourselves for mistakes, we accept the frailty of humanity with the eyes of compassion. When we forgive, inner wounds begin to heal. Peace and light can then flow into the open spaces resulting in a life that’s sweeter and fuller. Our memories also serve us as teachers. T.S. Eliot said, “We had the experience but missed the meaning.” Every human being seeks meaning. It’s essential to seek the meaning of our experiences in order to learn the lessons we then integrate into our thinking. I find it’s helpful to share the stories with others in order to make sense of them, allowing them to help me see their meaning. A useful question is, “Why did this memory stick with me all these years?” This is an opportunity to harvest the meaning. We know there’s much about aging that’s challenging. Our bodies weaken, forcing us to let go of so much. My family certainly discusses our health challenges. But more importantly we share our common history. As we integrate our shared memories, we continue to ripen into our best selves. (Hemesath is the owner of Encore Coaching. She’s dedicated to supporting people in the Third Chapter of Life. Contact her at nhemesath@cox.net.)
Moments like these are precious. Don’t let them fade away. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in people age 55+. Early detection is the key to saving your sight. Protect your vision from fading away. Call the Foundation Fighting Blindness for a free information packet about preventing and managing AMD.
A cure is in sight 800-610-4558 • Fightblindness.org Charles E. Dorwart Massih Law, LLC 40 years of legal experience • Wills • Living Trusts • Probate • Healthcare and Financial Powers of Attorney • Medicaid Planning • In-home consultations • Free Initial consultation 226 N. 114th Street • Omaha, NE 68154 Office: (402) 558-1404 or (402) 933-2111 chuck@massihlaw.com www.dorwartlaw.com
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New Horizons
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May 2021