Gordon’s Estate Services Receives The National Association of Senior Move Managers Circle of Service Designation

Kingston, ON – Gordon’s Estate Services has been awarded the Circle of Service designation by the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM).  The Circle of Service designation is bestowed on senior move management companies that have been a NASMM member, in good standing, for a minimum of five years, and have shown consistent dedication and support of the National Association of Senior Move Managers and the senior move management profession.

“This special designation is awarded to senior move management companies attaining an elevated level of experience and expertise,” said Mary Kay Buysse, NASMM’s Executive Director.  “Gordon’s Estate Services has been instrumental in the development of the senior move management industry and has worked to increase the professionalism, credibility, and visibility of this emerging senior service.”

Seventy-five senior move management companies from across the United States and Canada received the Circle of Service designation this year.  The awards ceremony took place during the National Association of Senior Move Managers 2012 Annual Conference in Austin, TX in early January.

The National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) is a not-for-profit, professional association of organizations dedicated to assisting older adults and families with the physical and emotional demands of downsizing, relocating, or modifying their homes. As the only professional association in North America devoted to helping the rapidly increasing 55+ population with middle and later lifestyle transition issues, NASMM members are committed to maximizing the dignity and autonomy of all older adults.  With nearly 700 members in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, NASMM is internationally recognized for its innovative programs, leadership and expertise on issues related to senior move management, transition and relocation issues affecting older adults.  For more information, visit www.nasmm.org.

Kingston’s Top Choice for Selling Estate Properties

According to the Kingston and Area Real Estate Association Statistics, Gordon’s Estate Services Ltd., sold the 4 most valuable Kingston area Estate Sale properties in 2011, including 2 over $1,000,000. Average market time to a firm sale was only 23 days with an average closing date of only 21 days!

ALSO, in each case, Gordon’s Estate Services worked with the family to completely empty the home and have it prepared for sale. This included shipping assets to family members who wanted them, donating assets to local charities, garbage removal and the management of the sale of remaining assets. Finally, managing pre-sale repairs, completely cleaning the home and getting it on the market in a way to achieve a sale at or above its appraised value.

Below are a few comments from one of these customers;

“It was a pleasure working with you and your company. I feel most fortunate to have been introduced to each and every one of you as I have worked through the difficult task of dealing with Dad’s passing. Already I find myself letting people know about the professional, committed and empathetic approach each and every one of your team provides in dealing with families in emotional situations. You have created a remarkable, facilitative and innovative approach to this part of life’s circle and I wish you nothing but the best with your company’s progress and growth. In the short time I was in Kingston dealing with this part of the estate, I felt surrounded by friends whenever one or more of your team members were present. “ – Laura Palango

As time flies by: Aging and perception of time

How many times have you heard the heartfelt lament, or uttered it yourself: “Where have the years gone?”
Remember the long, lazy days of summer when you were a kid? Or how a school year could seemingly drag on forever? Or that ritual Sunday dinner at a relative’s home that felt not like mere hours, but endless mind numbing torture?

As an adult, on the other hand, many of us can only shake our heads at how quickly the days and weeks and seasons seem to fly by. An entire year, or even five or 10 years, can pass, seemingly, in a blur.

Scientists say the perception of time speeding up as we age is a global phenomenon that is common across all cultures. Why is this? No one knows for sure, but there are several theories from psychologists and neuroscientists as to why our perception of time changes as we age. Here’s a brief overview of some possible explanations for the sense that life, at times, seems to be racing out of control.

It all comes down to the math

One explanation boils down to basic proportional theory. The logic is that at age 5, one year constitutes one-fifth or 20 per cent of a person’s life, and therefore can seem like a long time.

At the age of 50, on the other hand, a year represents a mere one-fiftieth of your life — and as a result, a year seems to go by far more quickly.

Early memories are more potent

Another theory, scientists say, has to do with how information gets stored in your memory when you experience something for the first time. Basically, when an experience is a new or novel one, the brain is wired to store more details.

In an interview on NPR, neuroscientist David Eagleman of Baylor College of Medicine in Texas says that when we have a new experience when we’re older, the brain can embroider on a bank of previous experiences. When we experience something new in our youth, on the other hand, the brain works hard to record all the details.

The result? The list of early-encoded memories is so dense that reading them back gives the illusionary sense they must have taken forever. “It’s a construction of the brain,” Eagleman says. “The more memory you have of something, you think, ‘Wow, that really took a long time!’”

“Of course, you can see this in everyday life,” he adds, “when you drive to your new workplace for the first time and it seems to take a really long time to get there. But when you drive back and forth to your work every day after that, it takes no time at all, because you’re not really writing it down anymore. There’s nothing novel about it.”

The bottom line: when experiences are new, novel or exciting, the brain records them in minute detail, but as experiences become more familiar as we age, the brain doesn’t bother with all the details – so events seem to pass more quickly.

The aging brain

Yet another theory pertains to biological characteristics of the aging brain. This theory holds that as the brain ages, it loses the ability to measure time accurately.

The brain’s neural conduction velocity, or the speed at which brain cells beat or pulse, essentially slows down with age, experts say. So just as when you’re walking slowly, people around you seem to be moving faster, the aging brain thinks more slowly, making the world appear to move faster… and faster.

The speed of time: a paradox

Have you ever noticed that the hours sometimes seem to drag, but the weeks and months still fly by? Scientists have also observed a time paradox for some older people who have reported feeling a slowness of time as it passes, but in retrospect, a feeling that it’s actually flashing past. According to experts, this generally affects people who have few activities, particularly new ones, to fill their day.

ON THE WEB
Listen to an NPR interview [1] on why time seems to speed up as we get older.

Sources: NPR; Psychology Today
Posted on 50Plus.com