A Helping Hand

Do you know anyone with an aging parent who has kept many keepsakes?

The question today is how do you lend a helping hand to an aging family member who has trouble letting go?

When you reach a ripe age of 99 everything can start to be a challenge. Just getting yourself fed and dressed can be a couple of hour event.

When you are trying to downsize it can be difficult to take the next step when memories surround you. What do you do with old yearbooks? How about family albums, remember those old fashioned books?

It can be a multi-week project but you have to begin somewhere.

Find a friend or family member and pick a pile. Its important to work with someone to help let go.

Go back through the memories then see if it is anything you will ever look at again. See if you can pass on the photos to a family member. They may be able to digitize them.

For the yearbooks or memorabilia, is there any place you can donate? Historical societies might take yearbooks or old bibles or books.

Move on to the next group of items. Is there any china that is worth any money? If so you can reach out to an antique store to see if they have any interest. You can get help to post things to eBay or Craigslist.

Facebook has marketplaces where you can sell things inexpensively. Connect with someone on Facebook and become a member. You’ll find things will go quickly if you price things right.

Letting go can be the most difficult part of the process. A helping hand is needed for acknowledgement and encouragement to help the person let go.

Private Home Health Care knows that it can be so difficult to let go of “things” that are part of your former life but the right helping hand can be just what is needed.

Playing in the Mud

When you were a child did you ever spend time playing in the mud?

Thinking about getting into the mud might make your skin crawl.  Some of you just may not have enjoyed getting yourself so “dirty.”

For those of you who did jump in, it turns out that you learned quite a bit from playing in all that wet dirt.

You may have boosted your immune system.  The good germs in mud may have saved you from a cold or flu back in the day.

You used creativity and imagination by building, moving or rolling in mud.  It was awesome sensory play too.  Mud feels different.

Think about the outdoor time you experienced.  No screens, just outdoor air and the earth.

Throwing mud can be fun but it’s probably not something you were allowed to do.  Hopefully you had trucks or things to use to build that kept you busy instead.

Mud play has been around for as long as dirt and water have been in the world.  In days gone past it was just a given that you played in the mud.  

Baths and washing machines did the cleaning after.  Isn’t that what they are for after all?

Private Home Health Care hopes that back in the day our seniors got to experience the fun of playing in the mud.  You might try it again someday!

Joy

Private Home Health Care is thinking about joy today and wondering what brings you joy?

You may say that today is the National Day of Joy but that’s not our concern, you are!

Merriam-Webster has a definition of joy and it is “a state of happiness or felicity (bliss)”.  That’s our definition too.

Do you have things that bring you joy?

It could be family-related or sports-related.  You might find joy in gardening, traveling or singing. You have so many possibilities!

We are not talking about any materialistic things that give you joy.  Your Apple watch or iPad don’t really count.

We really feel like joy is something in your surroundings or something that you do that gives you a great sense of well-being and happiness.

If you are a senior, setting time aside to be joyful is important.  Going out and smelling flowers could be joyful.  Knitting or doing an activity with a group might be another option.

The key for you is to make sure you take the time to think about being joyful.  If you are going through a rough patch it could be difficult but it’s important to try.

Each of you can begin to start spreading joy by talking to other people.  Laughing can bring lots of joy but just conversing and being positive works too.

Choosing to be full of joy may be something you have to focus on but that’s ok.  Life goes by so quickly and is so precious your joy can help you and others.

Private Home Health Care tries to bring joy and peace to the people we take care of.  We hope that you can find what makes you joyful. 

National Typewriter Day

Yes, you read that correctly.  A day for the typewriter, an old fashioned way to type up articles, recipes, reports you name it!  

It was just like the computers we have today, sort of!

If you are young you might not even know what a typewriter is but for those of us in their fifties or older, a typewriter saved the day for many of us.

A basic typing machine was invented by Charles Thurber in 1843.  Commercial typewriters however, took until 1867 to be built in Wisconsin.

Fast forward to the 1970’s and if you were in high school you would have had lessons on the typewriter.  Later, you would need a typewriter to do some of your work.

You would need to feed paper into the typewriter and replace any ink ribbon after it was used up.  

Don’t forget about any errors you might have made.  That required you use whiteout and retype to fix it!

The genius of moving to use a computer is that  if you learned to type using a typewriter it transferred perfectly to a computer keyboard since it is the same letter keyboard for both.

Memory lane is fun to go down every once in a while and the typewriter can bring us traveling right down it with thoughts of former jobs or other typing you would have done.

It’s fascinating too because there are some people you may have heard of who still like to use a typewriter when they get the chance.

These include authors George RR Martin and Jhumpa Lahiri and the filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

Private Home Health Care is sure that many of you remember the days when the typewriter was a great machine to use.   Celebrate the memories and then appreciate the computers we have today!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Staying Safe on a Warm Summer Day

The Summer solstice is upon us and with it the Northeast has a heatwave coming next week.

Our weather has been a bit crazy so far with lots of rain on the weekends and up and down temperatures.

Next week the temperatures are going to be stuck in the 90’s.  That means that no matter your age, but especially if you are elderly you need to take good care of yourself.

Below are a few reminders of the ways you can survive a heatwave.

1) Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.  You need to drink a lot, more than you usually do.

2) You should try and keep as cool as possible.  Use your air conditioner or your fan and keep them running.  

3) Try to cook on the stove top so you don’t have to use your oven.  Have a salad or sandwich for dinner perhaps.

4) Keep your blinds and curtains closed during the day to keep down the heat coming in.

5) Go out early in the day or later in the day and dress for the weather.  You should wear light, loose clothing to stay as cool as possible.

6) If you don’t have air conditioning try and go someplace that has it for a part of the day.  This will give your body a respite from the heat.

Private Home Health Care is available for help if needed during the extra hot days.  You should try and follow the tips above to keep yourself in good shape.

Photo by Clicker Happy

International Picnic Day

Today is a reminder of how fun an outdoor picnic can be!  

Summer is just around the corner and in New England we are heading into the perfect season for picnics.

Picnic as an outdoor social event has been around since the middle ages.  The menus have changed over the years and most likely the traditions have too.

You don’t have to use a checkered blanket, any comfortable blanket will do.  You might even decide to go to a state park where they have benches!

Deciding on the food to pack is half the fun.  The other half is choosing the games or activities you’ll enjoy.

It could become a tradition for your family.  We have memories of whole family gatherings where a softball game was played, good food eaten and lots of laughs.

Around the world people head outdoors to enjoy food and fun!

In Hong Kong they have seaside barbecues basically until the food is gone.

In England they bring any kind of food that can be eaten cold.  Then they enjoy a game of croquet.

In France and Paris, you grab a baguette with some cheese or a baguette and a bottle of cider and go to a park to feast and relax.

In Argentina a picnic is all about a drink of tea.  You sip a Yerba Mate from a gourd cup using a metal straw.  Food is not as central to the picnic as the tea.

Wherever you are from, Private Home Health Care hopes that this summer you’ll gather family and friends for an outdoor picnic.

Fresh vs. Frozen Vegetables

You know how important vegetables are for your overall health. 

Private Home Health Care has written often about the benefits of adding many different vegetables to your diet.

Today we are wondering about how important it is to eat fresh vegetables over frozen vegetables.  

Research has shown that there are actually benefits to both and a lot depends upon the season and the availability of fresh vegetables in your area.

Frozen vegetables have the benefit of getting picked and then frozen early so that any nutrients they offer stay with each vegetable.

That’s one positive for frozen vegetables.  

You can also keep frozen vegetables in your house longer than fresh vegetables before you consume them.

That’s another positive for frozen over fresh.

On the other hand, if you can buy fresh vegetables locally you will find they taste delicious and you’ll get great vitamins and nutrients too.

One point for fresh vegetables.

There are also some vegetables that just don’t freeze well so fresh is definitely better.  These include cucumbers, green onions, lettuce and other salad greens and tomatoes.

Another point for fresh vegetables.

Have you figured out the bottom line about fresh vs. frozen vegetables?

Both fresh and frozen are good for you and will give you vitamins and nutrients to fortify your body.  

Balance what you are able to get fresh in season and what works better for you frozen and enjoy!

Photo by Mark Stebnicki

Movie Night?

Gather your family, get some pizza or make some popcorn and settle down to enjoy a good movie together.

It’s National Movie night!

Watching a movie is a great way to spend time together.  A perfect way to bond.

You could head out to a movie theater to see the latest Lilo and Stitch or check out movies on one of the many streaming services available today.

Every day Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube or Peacock all have movie options.  Most households have one of these services but if you don’t there are still options.

Your local cable channels usually offer movie selections.  You can always rent one too for a nominal fee.

Do you live in a senior living facility?  Work with your social activities coordinator to find a movie to enjoy.  

For seniors too it’s a fun way to bring people together.  You might even take a trip down memory lane if you watch an older movie.

Private Home Health Care loves to sit back and watch a good movie.  We hope wherever you are you can find some time tonight or this weekend to do the same.

International Falafel Day – June 12

Private Home Health Care is thinking about falafel today. 

Those delicious chickpea and spice balls that you’ll find as part of a collection of dishes called Meza in the Middle East.  A meza dish is similar to tapas in the spanish cuisine world.

Falafel can also be eaten with a salad or in a pita pocket.

You’ll get many good benefits from eating falafel.  Falafel are both vegetarian and vegan as they don’t contain any meat or dairy.

Ground chickpeas and ingredients like garlic, onion, parsley, coriander and cumin blend together to form balls.  You’ll get protein and fiber from these tasty round delicacies.

Additionally you’ll get solid amounts of vitamin B6 and nutrients manganese, folate, magnesium, iron and zinc.  They really are little powerhouses.

The downside is that when you get these at restaurants they are often fried.  Your fat, carb and sodium make this a less healthy choice.  This is especially true if you are watching your sodium intake.

One solution for you is to make falafel yourself and bake them rather than fry them.  This changes the fat and carb content and you control the sodium too. 

You can find different recipes online then you follow these directions for baking them:

1.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking/cookie sheet with oil.
2. Take your mixture and form them into small patties and place them on the baking sheet.
3. Bake one side for 10-12 minutes, then flip them and bake another 10-12 minutes until they are golden and crispy.

Private Home Health Care loves to enjoy falafel and eat them with a sauce like tzatziki.  Fried falafel in moderation is ok if baking is not for you.  Treat yourself to some falafel and taste a bit of the middle east.

Photo by Nataliya Voitkevich

Vision Rehabilitation Week

This coming week is to help people realize what vision rehabilitations are available to them.

Based on information from 2023 there are 51.9 million of you who are having some difficulty seeing, ages 18 and up. 

Of those 3.7 million of you have a lot of trouble seeing even with glasses and 307,000 of you cannot see at all.

When changes occur and it becomes very difficult to do everyday activities due to your eyes, that’s the time to discover what services are available to help.

These services are not just for those of you who are elderly but for any of you experiencing difficulties with your vision.

Simple and easy-to-do things are:

• Getting side-vision awareness glasses
• Using magnifiers
• Getting large print reading materials

You can also find what is called vision rehabilitation services and you might not be aware of all of your options:

Occupation Therapy (OT) – you can get help to focus near and far, improve eye muscle motility and adapt to lost portions of your vision.

Social Security – if you paid enough taxes on your social security and you are not yet retired, you may be able to get SS insurance. There may also be supplemental funds available as well.

Technology Support – there are screen readers available for computers and tablets.  In addition, there are products that will “talk” so you don’t have to read them.  This includes blood pressure monitors and glucose meters.

Private Home Health Care wants you to know that you are not alone.  There are a number of national organizations who have wonderful resources.  

These include but are not limited to the American Foundation for the Blind, the Vision Service Alliance and the Blinded Veterans Association.