Holiday Gifts for aging/old/older mothers continues but first--
Sr. advisor, R, was able to join--with wheelchair-- the family Thanksgiving celebration. And it was a gift for her and for the 12 of us. In our efforts to help parents age well, we were careful not to exhaust her--although not completely successful. A lot of stimulation is fun, but uses energy that is in shorter supply in older people making it difficult for them to gear down after such experiences. But it made for good sleeping for R that night, once back at the rehab center.
Giving mobility-challenged older people the gift of an outing, if one does this alone, may merit practice with loading and unloading a wheel chair or walker; and may present initial stress. The staff at care centers is helpful, we found, offering a mini lesson. In our case, the actual transporting to and from our car was no problem and went more smoothly than the mini lesson.
R says this first outing gave her the confidence to go out again. My husband thinks a drive; I think a drive with lunch. We'll see. Of one thing we're certain, she will not go out holiday shopping. That said, she did ask for one of her catalogs and a looked-forward-to appeal letter so she could order Christmas gifts for those special people (younger than we) who live near and are dear to her; and to make certain a local food bank gets its annual Christmas donation.
Holiday Gifts for aging/old/older mothers continued from: http://helpparentsagewell.blogspot.com/2010/11/holiday-gifts-for-aging-parents-2.html
Draper's & Damon's drapers.com (800-843-1174) advertises a "full selection of misses, petites, and women's" clothing. They also have: flat-front pull-on pants as well as those with all-around elastic waist bands, Alfred Dunner, Da Rue, additional unnamed manufacturers, and many separates shown with color-coordinated jewelry. This takes the guesswork out of coordinating a stylish outfit. Skirts (both long and a bit below-the-knee styles ) and coordinated sporty jackets and pants in velour and other fabrics round out their offerings. If you link to them you will also learn of their store locations (in 6 states).
Coldwater Creek www.coldwatercreek.com (800-262-0040), with stores throughout the country, presented a fashion show at our Woman's Club using some 70+-year-olds members (among others). I was impressed with the stylish transformation--do I dare say--that CC 's clothing made in some of the women with less than perfect figures. (Not surprisingly, those models ended up purchasing the clothing they modeled--and more.) Coldwater Creek has clothes suitable for all ages. The variety of styles and coordinating colors make it easy to put a good-looking outfit together.
Chico's chicos.com (888-855-4986), like Coldwater Creek, has many stores whose location you can easily find on the web. Clothes are suitable for all ages, with attractive clothing and jewelry suitable for older mothers. Check out the shawl-type cardigans (no buttons)--warm and cozy while giving a contemporary look
I visited a Chico's and a Coldwater Creek store today. The sales people were most helpful suggesting clothes for older women. Also go online. If you like what you see and it conforms to your mother's challenges and needs, you may be surprised at what works for older women.
If you believe in "look good, feel better," an attractive addition to an older woman's wardrobe can accomplish this--another way we can help our parents age well.
If you haven't done so, check out my new site: http:helpparentsagewell.com. Same blog, more resources.
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