The Season of Lent Begins

Today is Ash Wednesday.  For Christians around the world it begins the season of Lent.

Lent calls for Christians to focus their hearts on repentance and prayer.  This is done over forty days of praying, fasting and almsgiving.

The meaning of Lent does not change year to year but have you ever wondered why the date of Ash Wednesday and Easter varies?  You need to look at the lunar calendar and the spring equinox for the answer.

Easter is always celebrated after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox.  You then count back 46 days, 40 days of fasting minus the six Sundays of Lent which are not part of that fasting.  Ash Wednesday usually begins between February 4 and March 10. 

Today you may see Christians with ashes on their foreheads.  Last year’s palms from Palm Sunday are used to make a cross shape as the words “From dust you came and from dust you will return” are heard.  A solemn message of mortality and sinfulness to begin the season.

Christians have forty days to pray and fast on these messages before the joy of Easter brings sunlight and hope.

Today Private Home Health Care would like to wish our Christian community and friends a very blessed and prayerful Lent.

Photo by Valeria Bottneva

Our Hearing

Hearing is one of our five senses along with sight, smell, taste and touch all important in our daily lives.

You stay connected with people when you listen and hold conversations.  You get enjoyment and learn from watching the news, tv shows, documentaries and movies.  It keeps you on track with wake-up alarms, timers, bells and whistles.

Our lives would be very different if we couldn’t hear.

In our country, there are approximately 15% of Americans over the age of 18 who have trouble hearing. Naturally, as we age, our hearing is one of our senses that changes.  

As we get to be 65 the statistics change to one in 3 people.  Then it’s nearly half of the people over age 75 that can’t hear well.

Your hearing loss can be attributable to exposure to loud noises, changes to your inner ear and even your genes can play a role.

If you do experience hearing loss an appointment with your medical professional is worthwhile.  You can find out your options to help.

If there is still time there are ways you can help to prevent hearing loss.

• Be careful with noise levels especially when using earbuds or headphones or when just watching television.  Keep the volume at reasonable levels.

• If you work in a loud environment use ear plugs and try to take breaks from the noise.

• Stay hydrated, avoid too much salt and eat foods with antioxidants and vitamins.  Get leafy greens into your diet and foods with zinc, magnesium and folic acids.

• Avoid cleaning your ears with cotton swabs.  You can prevent the wax pushing deeper into your ear canal and causing blockage.

Private Home Health Care knows how important hearing is to each of us and how connected it keeps us to each other.  We hope you pay attention to any changes to your hearing and get help when you need it.

Pancakes

 “Pancake.”  Something you cook on a “pan” and is round and “cake-like” thus the name pancake.  A food that is found all around the world and eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Pancakes Started When?

It looks like the pancake has been around for quite a long time.

Pancake-like remains were found in Pompeii in 79AD.  In Africa there is evidence of grinding stones and milling tools and in Scandinavia there are images left of people flipping what look like pancakes.  Talk about a long history!

How Many Types of Pancakes?

Depending where you live a pancake can take different forms.  

In China they had “bings.  

France has two kinds, crepes and galettes if you come from Brittany.

“Scotch” pancakes are a bit smaller and thicker.

And there are more!

Here in the United States

Pancakes have been in our country since around the 17th century thanks to the Dutch.  The Dutch landed in Pennsylvania and New York and started making them.

The Indigenous people also had hotcakes made out of cornmeal which was plentiful.

For Mardi Gras and the beginning of lent and fasting, it was a way of using up eggs, milk and butter.

Private Home Health Care sees pancakes on breakfast menus all over the country.  Thanks to a collective effort and skilled cooks today we have many different pancakes all over the world.

Photo by Ash Craig

Letter to an Elder Day

Private Home Health Care loves this National Day and we like to tell you why.

Seniors for many different reasons can feel lonely at times.  We all get plenty of junk mail and they probably do too.  A handwritten letter received in the mail may sound old-fashioned but it is certain to brighten a senior’s day.  

Jacob Cramer discovered this after the death of his grandfather.  He volunteered at a senior living space to honor him and started playing games with the residents.  He began to notice that many did not get many communications or visits. 

Seeing the loneliness that was prevalent in the community he decided to try and change things.  He started writing letters to different senior communities.  He made so many friends that he wanted to expand his success.

Since 2013, Jacob has a group of 50,000 letter writers that write and send letters to elders all over the world.  Each year he hopes to spread the enthusiasm to companies, classrooms and individuals by having this national day.

Today, if you know of a senior who may be lonely try writing a letter, adding a stamp and mailing it.  Add your return address and see if you get a response.

You already spend a fair amount of time communicating?  Is it by letter or texts and emails? You send greeting cards for birthdays?  That’s great but do you add a letter and is it to an elder?

How about adding to the posse of letter writers that Jacob has?  Find a senior living facility near you.  Get in touch and find a few names of residents so you can personalize them.  Then write a letter or two on a topic or things you think they might enjoy. 

If you know the seniors it should make things easier.  Think of the joy and happiness you would spread. 

Happy connecting with others.

Photo by Ron Lach

Quiet

Have you ever noticed how noisy life can be at times?

Traveling to work with the radio or on a commuter rail with people talking.  Talking at meetings or at school with children.  Shopping with music playing in the mall and in stores.  Listening to music while you work around the house.  When is it ever quiet?

Quiet is something you don’t think about often but don’t underrate it.  Quiet can help you recharge.  It offers time to think and contemplate.  

Prayer and mediation is often associated with quiet but you might also like to try it at different points in your day too.

When you need to make decisions, big or small, some quiet time can help clear your mind.  Peace and clarity may work their way into your mind.

Your emotional and even physical well-being can be helped when you take time to be quiet.  By stepping away from the busyness and noise of everyday life you can find a kind of peace.

Who wouldn’t like a bit of peace?

This week try to set aside some time to be quiet, think and relax.  You may need to close yourself up in a room if you have a young family but you can do it.

For those of you in assisted living, try and spend some time without the television or radio. 

Give yourself time.  You never know what can happen.

Private Home Health Care is busy caring for our clients but we are going to try and take some time to stay quiet.  We hope the quiet will renew us to continue to serve our community with care and dignity.

Photo by Alina Matveycheva

Recognizing Caregivers

It’s National Caregiver Day! Do you know a caregiver to recognize and appreciate today?

It is estimated that there are about 53 million caregivers in our country who help people they know.  This could be family, spouses, friends or neighbors. People you care about.  In many cases the work is unpaid.

Caregiver Statistics

59% of family caregivers are women.  They find it can be more difficult to balance caregiving responsibilities than men.

43% of caregivers are the only one providing the care.  An average of 20 hours per week.

53% of family caregivers also work in full-time jobs. 

Almost half of the caregivers don’t get support, either financial, counseling or respite care.

43% of family caregivers report sleeping difficulty that can cause feelings of depression.

Caregiver Tasks

Tasks can run from simple to more complex.

Simple:  Assistance could be needed to get to medical appointments.

A bit more:  The need can be for help shopping, doing housework or preparing meals.

And a bit more:  Older adults often need care due to mobility issues, illness or old age.

More complex:  medical or nursing needs like medication management.

The bottom line is that there are a lot of caregivers in the United States with varying responsibilities but all of their work is important.

We at Private Home Health Care can help with care.  We realize that the work can be stressful and there comes a time when it becomes too much to manage.

On this day we all appreciate and honor the caregivers that we know. The caring and special kindness offered by caregivers is to be celebrated.

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National Muffin Day

Tomorrow, February 20, is National Muffin Day.

We are sharing this with you today so you have plenty of time to find yourself a muffin to celebrate the day!

The muffin has been around for quite a while.  English muffins were first followed closely by the muffins we know today, blueberry, chocolate chip, cranberry orange to name a few.

Do you know the Muffin man who lives in Drury Lane? That’s a nursery song sung by many over the years.  

It probably started during the 19th century when you would have had men selling muffins door-to-door out in the streets.  Only wealthy people had ovens back then so buying a muffin was a real treat.

Today, muffins are easy to share.  You’ll often find them at a breakfast gathering or offered during a meeting.  

The quest is to find one that is the most delicious.  You won’t have them delivered but you can do some taste testing!

You probably don’t want to have muffins for breakfast every morning, but a splurge now and again and especially on National Muffin Day is a yummy treat.

You’ll also find many recipes for muffins that make them a more healthy choice too.  Eatingwell.com is a great resource to check out. 

Private Home Health Care knows a great place to buy a delicious muffin.  We’ve added it to our list for a treat tomorrow.

President’s Day

Private Home Health Care hopes that you are enjoying this year’s federal holiday!

Today was set aside to celebrate our first United States President, George Washington, but later Abraham Lincoln as well since his birthday is also in February.

Not all states and municipalities celebrate today as a federal holiday but the majority of us should be having a day to ourselves to enjoy thanks to George and Abraham.

On the federal agency level, you won’t get mail and your banking will have to wait since all are closed for the day.  

Many of us consider this a day to honor all of our Presidents. 

How many Presidents have you seen in your lifetime?

There could be very few who remember Warren Harding who left office in 1923.  More may remember the President who hailed from Vermont, Calvin Coolidge.  He was after Harding from 1923-1929.

If you are between ninety-five and one hundred years old you lived through the Presidency of Herbert Hoover and the Great Stock Market crash of 1929.  Franklin Roosevelt was President for what some consider to be the greatest generation who battled in WWII.

Baby boomers remember Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and beyond along with Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z following close behind.

No matter the President you decide to honor today, we hope you can take some time for yourself to relax, have some fun and do whatever suits you.  Enjoy.

Happy Valentine’s Day

This is a day for love of all kinds so Private Home Health Care hopes you make the most of showing the people you love how much you care.

If you have children you know how excited they are to make and receive valentine’s cards.  Adults find ways to enjoy it too.  

Chocolate and roses are very popular among the older folks.  A dinner out is also popular but hopefully you got a reservation way in advance.

Valentine’s Day has actually been around for centuries. You may think you know everything about it but we thought we’d share a few fun facts to see.

• It is believed that the first valentine’s note was given in the year 1477.

• The first heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolates were first created in 1861.

• In the days of the Victorians they were known to send out rude valentine’s cards.

• More cards are sent out for Valentine’s Day than almost any other holiday.

• Candy is the most common gift.  

• It’s a popular day to get engaged.  Six million people usually do.

Valentine’s Day is not a holiday for everyone but hopefully there is happiness and some love for all to go around.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Starting tomorrow and ending February 19 is a week dedicated to raising awareness about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the most common form of the disease.

Muscular Dystrophy is a group of genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness in your muscles.  The proteins used to promote good muscle health are not working for you. You also lose muscle mass. 

If you are old enough, you may remember the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethon that took place Labor Day weekend for 21 years.  

The telethon ran from 1966 to 2010 and raised $2.45 billion dollars for research on this disease.  After 2010 the telethons changed and finally stopped in 2015.

This disease occurs in more boys than girls.  Symptoms can appear as early as age three to six but also in adulthood.

You cannot be cured of this disease but with diagnosis you can get therapy to manage your symptoms.  Additionally, there are medications available to help slow the progression of the disease.

It’s important to be aware of some of the signs and symptoms:

• Frequent falls
• Difficulty rising from a lying or sitting position
• Trouble running and jumping
• Waddling gait
• Walking on the toes
• Large calf muscles
• Muscle pain and stiffness
• Learning disabilities
• Delayed growth

Private Home Health Care thinks it’s important to raise awareness about this difficult disease.