From The Desk of Carmen Grinkis

As you may know, I’m passionate about music. I remember in the late 1960s when my parents gave me a transistor radio to help me go to sleep at night. I would wait for a certain Carpenter’s song to play as it always did around the same time. Once I heard the lines, “On the day you were born, the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true,” I’d relax into sleep. Music has been a lifelong companion.

Fast forward to present day, and I still spin records, collect music, and can’t resist a good find when it comes to music technology. I don’t think I’m alone in feeling music connects us, transports us, and heals us. It provokes the past, brings meaning to the present, and helps us dream about our future.

This in mind, I couldn’t help but feel moved watching Joni Mitchell’s recent Grammy performance. It was a song that took me back to the age of 24, when I taped “Free Man in Paris” from the Court and Spark album onto a cassette tape and listened to it on my Walkman while backpacking through France. The music matched up and became intertwined with my memories of that moment in time.

Joni’s Grammy performance of “Both Sides, Now” showed us the timelessness of her art and reminded all of us of where we were then and where we are now. There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience or at our house. For Joni, now 80, the performance was also a personal triumph. In 2015, she experienced a brain aneurysm that left her unable to walk or talk. She has fought her way through, back to her music, teaching herself to play the guitar all over again. (If you missed her performance on the Grammys, you might still find the video archived online.)

As a trusted advisor for clients over the age of 80, I am reminded of the wisdom, strength, and also the challenges and vulnerability associated with aging. Getting to know our client’s children and support networks has been important. This can be an extremely personal and emotional journey for all involved, and I’m honored to be present with them and to offer a voice of clarity when needed. I’ve been meeting with clients lately to see where they’re going next and what I can do to help in 2024. Because I’m there through all of life’s stages, this includes the challenging yet immensely gratifying role of navigating the complexities of age.

We’re excited to reconnect with you this year and to help you plan for the next phase, whether shifting priorities or maintaining your current focus. This is a good time, too, to reiterate the value in establishing a trusted contact on your account. A trusted contact is someone who may be relied upon to act in your best interest, provides another layer of safety on your account, and puts me in a better position to help you should a situation concerning your welfare arise.

As always, please reach out to me if you have any questions.

AAF Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where AAF Wealth Management and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. This blog is solely for informational purposes. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by AAF Wealth Management unless a client service agreement is in place.