Gifting Easily-decorated Halloween Pumpkins with Flowers and Whimsey Lifts Spirits of Aging Parents and Care Center Elders

2015 Pumpkins for Elders 

Pumpkins with interesting stems and the potential for whimsey make uplifting October gifts. And once again they've been given to older people this past week, the oldest being 97-year-old J.

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Help Older Women Look Good: Fashionistas (67-93) and Aging Mothers

NY Fashion Week 2015 Shows Style is Ageless*
Look Better, Feel Better

Women  aged 77 and 90--- runway models? Here Wilma and Phyllis model

 at NY Fashion Week 2015

Past posts (Fashionistas or Frumpy-Dumpies) have addressed women's appearance over the years. Clearly older women can look very good! And why not? Life has changed for women since the olden days and NY recognized this during Fashion Week last month.

Senior Advisor R always looked in order and Senior Advisor D, at 90, still looks stylish--not runway stylish--but in style. How do they do it? It's not the money spent--rather  it's THE FIT and the time, energy, and desire to look good.

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Aging Parents, Con-Artists, & Scams: Psychological & Monetary Consequences

Preventing Independent, Proud Elders From Feeling Foolish, and Ashamed, and Possibly impoverished
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Most of us would quickly get rid of a scam email requesting we send money for a friend whose wallet was lost in London. No one wants to look/feel stupid--specially when intentions are the best. We'd recognize the scam immediately. But there's a more insidious ploy with serious consequences that I was unaware of until I read the just-received November issue of ConsumerReports. 

Scam artists and con (wo)men targeting seniors is not news. 

 

What is news is reading about the emotional damage to elders-- on top of financial loss. "A Crying Shame-Seniors and their families lose $3 billion a year to con artists. What can we do to stop them?" arrived in our mailbox Thursday. 

These scams/frauds are so carefully conceived and executed that it's easy to understand how aging parents--indeed all elders and possibly some of us kind-hearted souls--could be sucked in. But it's the emotional fall-out--that we're unaware of and is non-fiction reading here--that I find compelling.

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Caring For Aging Parents--The Pope and Respected Financial News Sources Weigh In

                        Family Caregivers for their Aging Parents
                                are Worth Their Weight in Gold

Valuing "old people"--included in Pope Francis's speech--shouldn't have surprised me. "Old people." (At 78 is Pope Francis old?) Those words made an impact, while watching his presentations to Congress on TV, and again--while watching, I believe, his UN speech, on TV in New York.

And today I was told (by someone who hadn't read the article) that a high-respected financial weekly, Barron's, came out today promoting a "Caring For Aging Parents" article. Is this a coincidence? In any event, I was curious about its contents. ........................

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NYC's last 2 days have been filled with Pope Francis (less than 3 months until his 79th birthday). ......In the right place at the right time, I share this iPhone-taken-photo on a NYC side-street.

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Aging Parents: Cleaning Out Their Home After Death--The Plus-side

Past posts about cleaning out my parents' home--basically alone--after they died had one purpose: to offer the best, objective, helpful information, dismissing the emotional for the most part. They didn't emphasize the emotional benefits because I know well that one person's experience does not qualify as valid for many.

Recent events, however, make me think the emotional benefit for me, could be many people's experience, although they're unaware. Left alone in one's growing-up home with things and memories --and a lot of work seems overwhelming! That said, looking back, it was one of the most precious gifts one can have if we're fortunate enough to be cast into this position.

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Aging Parents: A Perfect Birthday Party for an Elderly Woman (96)

First, the background for the most perfect and meaningful birthday celebration I ever attended.

She mentioned the old days with obvious nostalgia, when women were invited to people’s homes for luncheons and teas. The younger woman, B, listened intently. The older woman described how special it was–the friendliness, the sharing, the carefully-planned and prepared food.

The sincerity and vivid recollection made an impact on the younger woman, whose lifestyle included a thirteen-year-old, two college-aged children, and her two difficult aging parents.

The older woman was Sr. Advisor, R, my m-i-l, a remarkable woman whose wisdom, sayings, diet, and way of living life have  provided material for many posts. Recalling times gone by and their sweet moments, these recollections still brought R happiness–more than half a century later. B was moved by the conversation.

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R didn’t want a celebration for her 95th birthday. This year was different. B, in her 40’s, planned a 96th birthday luncheon. 11 guests (ages 13-96). The hostess’s 13-year-old daughter wanted to be there as did her 25-year-old sister (with a recent ankle fracture).

The large dining room table, beautifully set, was extended to seat all the guests.....

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Aging Parents' Hygiene--Do Old People Smell?

          ...and if a person smells, how do you tell him/her?

Last week "The Truth about 'Old People Smell,'" awaited me in my gmail. Coincidentally I had just posted about how often elders should bathe so I was curious about "the truth."  In the end I was left wondering.

What I'm not wondering about is the importance of proper hygiene for elders. Well-respected, documented research confirms connections with others are essential in aging well and I daresay people who are smelly don't attract others. 

This brings up the importance of doing the awkward favor: informing someone you care about that he or she smells (or whatever)....and the dilemma:                                       

What to say. How to say it.

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