Looking for NYC-based activities for recently retired grandmother

• My grandmother is 89, and only retired in the last year. Since she's retired, she hasn't been doing much, and I'm worried about how she'll do over the next few years if she doesn't stay busy. I'd like to make a list of things she could be doing in NYC, where she lives, to stay active. She has some very specific needs and interests, though, and can be a bit ornery, so I'm hoping you can help me work within her limitations. My grandmother, a widower, stayed in her job (teaching at community college) until this year. Now that she's retired, she hasn't been doing much, and we're all a bit worried about her. I'd like to help her think about what she could be doing with her time, but because of her age, health, and general disposition, it's been difficult to come up with anything much. Hopefully you can help! Her interests: -Kids: Think 10 and under. It comes up often that she student taught, many years back, in elementary school, and loved it. -The arts: She enjoys going to the ballet, opera, and theatre productions. She is also an avid reader. -Travel: She can't really travel much anymore because of her age/health, but she used to travel regularly to places all over the world. -Walking: She seems to really like walking around the city (slowly) and window shopping. Her limitations: -After kids pass 10 years old or so, she is not a fan. -She is in the early stages of Parkinson's, so dexterity is an issue. She can't currently drive (though who would ask her to drive in NYC, I have no idea) and she can't really hold/carry things reliably. -She often prefers standing to sitting. -I have heard secondhand that she is really against the standard old lady-ish activities - canasta, bridge, bingo, etc. -She's pretty ornery. Often this looks like disagreeing with what others are saying, even when they're basically paraphrasing her. It can also look like a lack of empathy. I think this comes out most with her family and students, so I'd like to think that if she was out and about elsewhere in the world this wouldn't be such an issue...but I can't be sure. This disposition means that she might not be a great fit for an activity that requires too much kindness, or good customer service. I'm looking for any and all suggestions about what my grandmother could be doing with her time - volunteering, joining a particular group, part time work, etc. I realize these limitations might make this task completely impossible...if it helps, I think it'd be better to have things that fit her limitations but not her interests, rather than vice versa, as they seem to be a much more important factor for her decisions.

• Answer:

  My great aunt lived to be 100 and worked until her mid 80s. She lived in Queens. She stopped driving in 1957 when she moved into the apartment she lived in for 48 years. She used to get down on the floor well into her 70s and 80s and sit cross legged playing board games such as Candyland with my kids. She also used to volunteer at the local elementary school. She would come in once a week and read a story to a class or help chaperone one activity or another. I have no idea how she got the gig, but she loved it. I would call a local elementary school or in the summer a day camp and offer to read stories and tell stories. Maybe there is a small branch of the public library where she can read stories at story time. Although I was too young to remember, appartently my great grandmother spent her 90s writing all the stories of her life. I have read them and they are absolutely fascinating for the family lore, the history context and how varied of a life she led. Maybe your grandmother who as a former teacher would appreciate it, would write the family history and tell family stories from her generation?