Help! Aging Parents: lifting spirits

Showing posts with label lifting spirits. Show all posts

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Aging Parents: MOTHER'S DAY GIFTS--Fashionista or Frumpy-Dumpy, What's a Daughter to Do?

Look good, feel good. New clothes can lift spirits

and that helps parents age well.

Most women like to look good, yet aging issues, including lack of energy, may dampen a woman’s enthusiasm for buying clothes. Mother’s Day provides a chance to update older women’s wardrobes. For fashionista’s daughters, shopping for Mothers is fun; for others it’s a chance to help frumpy-dumpies look good.

My 101 year-old mil’s favorite clothing catalogs (now on-line) are below, carrying a wide variety of smart, well-priced clothing and accessories for women ages 50+++. No wonder they’re popular with many older women, as seen by the commenters’ ages.

Please visit my other site to view entire post

http://helpparentsagewell.com/2015/04/21/aging-parents-mothers-day-gifts-fashionista-or-frumpy-dumpy-whats-a-daughter-to-do/

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Aging Parents: Make Elderly Happy~Thanks to St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day. Another opportunity to make elderly people happy: happiness created by anticipation if we've planned ahead to do something with them; unexpected happiness from an unexpected gift or communication. And you don't have to be Irish to participate. A NYC ad campaign, ubiquitous in the NYC subways throughout the '60's and 70's, proclaimed: "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's real Jewish Rye."

Likewise in NYC, we don't have to be Irish to love corned beef and cabbage, catch the spirit, and participate in St. Patrick's Day festivities. Every important politician, it seems, is Irish that day, marching--with high visibility-- in the popular St. Patrick's Day Parade.

To view entire post, please visit my other site

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Entertaining Elders, Seniors and Aging Parents: Super Bowl 2015 Commercials

"Lost Dog"--can anyone resist? Best Ad--Courtesy Budweiser

"Lost Dog"--can anyone resist? Most popular
(Courtesy Budweiser)

What could be better entertainment for aging and elderly parents than watching some of these commercials, if they didn't see the game?

Sunday, February 1, 2015. Super Bowl XLIX....

If spirits need lifting, watching that little puppy plus a few other Super Bowl 2015 ads, could be just what the doctor ordered.

To view entire post and watch selected commercials that will entertain and engage elders we care about, visit my other site

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Help Aging Parents: Easter and Passover Treats--A Very Quick Outing

Holidays provide endless opportunities to help parents age well. Taking elders out for a change of scenery is one--especially for those who are basically housebound, mobility challenged, or don't venture forth except for essentials like doctors' appointments. It's uplifting, muscles are exercised, and it can be exciting--like those field trips we went on in grade school.

To view entire blog, please visit my other site

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Aging Parents and Super Bowl XLVIII Ads

Photo: Anheuser-Busch

What could be better entertainment for aging and elderly parents
than watching some of these ads?

Please visit my other site to view entire post and watch selected videos of ads

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Aging Parents: It's the Haa, Haa-py-est Time of The Year?

It's The Haa, Haa--py--est Time of The Year

The words and melody from the radio fill my car as I drive to the post office to mail the holiday cards. We have snow, it looks like a winter wonderland; and kids, amid shrieks of laughter and merriment, are sledding down our shared driveway on anything they can find that's large enough to sit on. Sun is
shining, snow balls are flying, and I'm certain school vacation is adding to this happiest of times.

And then my counseling background kicks in and I remember that holidays aren't always the happiest of times for people. So I decide to check in with a few older people and see how they're doing. As a counselor, I'm trained to ask objective questions--not leading questions that will give me the answer I want (or think I want). That said, let me share my findings.

To view entire post please go to my other site: http://wp.me/pGfkw-3Li

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Autumn Ideas to Energize Aging Parents: A Focus on the 5 Senses

The 5 Senses: Apple Cider, Autumn Leaves, Crackling Fires,

                                                 Pumpkin Pies Baking, and a Hug
                                                                       aka
                                               Taste, Sight, Hearing, Smell, Touch

If it seems like I’m rushing autumn, blame it on the school calendar we used to live by. I don’t know how old I was before I realized the day after Labor Day was not the end of summer.

Trying to be prepared, I’m thinking of creative ideas to raise older people’s spirits in autumn. Realizing the importance of the 5 senses, I’m wondering if we can energize and lift aging parents’ spirits–indeed any older person’s spirits–by bringing gifts or arranging activities that incorporate at least 1 of the 5 senses. I’m guessing you’re getting the idea.

to view entire post, visit my other site: http://helpparentsagewell.com/2012/09/02/autumn-ideas-t…n-the-5-senses/

Hi, I'm Susan~

--Wife, teacher, counselor, author, and a far-away-living adult child for decades.

I came from the West to NY for the graduate program in counseling at Teachers College, Columbia U, and have stayed and worked in NY throughout my adult life.

Although far from family, I always knew I would "be there" if my parents needed me. Mother died just short of her 88th birthday; Dad died at 94, and most recently my-i-l, Sr. Advisor R--who lived alone (no caregivers) in her own home--died in June 2015 at 101.

Helping others comes naturally.

As a teenager I was a “Dear Abby” to my friends; later–as a teacher–an untrained counselor to my students. Graduate work and my counseling degree led to a career I’ve loved: counseling high school students and their families. This included–as divorce rates rose in the ’80’s–writing Helping Children of Divorce: a Handbook for Parents and Teachers, published by Schocken Books.

Help! Aging Parents is an extension of my ongoing desire to use my professional training and experience to help others.

About This Blog

Helping parents age well sounds so basic, but it doesn't happen automatically. While we train for the important parts of our lives (childbirth, driving, SATs, jobs), helping parents age well throughout the life cycle is usually on-the-job training--after a health event necessitates fast-forward learning.

Help! Aging Parents is committed to sharing the best information, professional advice, personal experiences and creative ideas to help parents and grandparents age as independently and well as possible until the very end.

* * *

As my parents aged I became aware of a sharp contrast: the ever-present enormous physical and emotional energy of my teenage counselees struggling to develop confidence, assert independence, increase relationships and have fun, while my parents' generation was trying desperately to hold onto these aspects of living.

This led to a disturbing realization: we conscientiously encourage and support younger people who have a full life ahead but--often unwittingly-- diminish and devalue older people. The implications: Younger people feel good about their ability to move forward, while older people can feel "what's the use, I'm old" leading to problems for them and for their children.

This is where we can--and do-- make a difference.