Elder Care Cafe

As we approach Valentine’s Day, great news arrives for chocolate lovers around the world. Recent studies reveal that chocolate is good for the body as well as good for the soul. A new study that analyzed three previous studies reveals eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate can provide numerous health benefits, including the possibility of [...]

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As Valentine’s Day approaches, many of us will remember our grammar school days when our mothers and teachers had us exchange a Valentine with everyone in our class whether we could tolerate our classmate or not. Many a child struggled with sending the Valentine with just the right wording so that our classmates of the opposite sex would [...]

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When I realized I was getting close to my 300th post on this site, I started thinking about words such as milestone and landmark. First I thought this post was a milestone, but, according to the dictionary milestones mark a distance between two points. Writing this many entries might be considered a milestone, but then I [...]

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Recently my eighty-seven-year-old father has shown increasing signs of dementia. Yesterday he had his quarterly visit to his primary care physician. Several of us in the family noticed Dad’s growing confusion, so I took the opportunity to see if we should ask for a referral to a local geriatric center for testing.

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As our parents age, many of us find ourselves having to cope with our parents declining health. Not only do we need to help them deal with a growing number of health issues, but also make such decisions as whether they should stay in their own home, move in with a family  member, or relocate to an assisted [...]

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During the 1950s and 1960s most seniors either moved in with their adult children or an adult child or caregiver moved in with them when they were unable to care for themselves. Life expectancy was much lower and most families did not have to care for their family members beyond their 40s, 50s, or 60s. [...]

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Because we are in the midst of flu and cold season, I thought I would provide a reminder of what to do in case you or a family member find yourself combating the influenza virus. Although most of the points are common sense, when we are feeling under the weather we don’t always remember what we [...]

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God has given me a precious gift since we moved into our new home – the gift of Peace. Both Dad and I are feeling it, and are very much aware that we are living in a space filled with peace. As the new year descends upon us, I am preparing to write my goals [...]

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Along with the goals and objectives I am developing for the coming year as mentioned in yesterday’s post, I am also including healthy aging as a priority for both Dad and myself. As a caregiver, I need to stay healthy in order to better help the one I am caring for. Here is a brief [...]

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Every year since the early 1990s I have written down my goals for the coming year. Some years I have had great success by diligently following my goals, while other years life seemed to take its own course and the goals fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, that was the case in 2009. In one of [...]

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We were saddened last week by the death of my Dad’s sister, my Aunt Vi. She was 92-years-old at the time of her death. She and Dad had spoken by phone almost daily since the death of her husband in 2001, which was especially helpful to Dad after the death of his wife (my mother) [...]

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Today is my Dad’s 87th birthday. Earlier today I was thinking about how many decades he has lived and what life experiences surrounded him over the years.
He was born in 1922, just as the Roaring 20’s was becoming the next big it thing. By the time he was ten-years-old, the banks had collapsed and the [...]

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Recently, an article regarding how to understand the symptoms of dementia led me to think about my mother and all she went through as she gradually lost her memory. As difficult as that loss was, there was also the difficulty of watching someone we loved change before our eyes.

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In a previous post, I wrote about saving money by creating a simple weekly meal plan. Jotting down what your meals will look like over the next week will help you save money at the grocery store. Checking out special sale ads, keeping an accumulative grocery list during the week, and taking care not to [...]

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Although it appears the recession is beginning to turn around, and better times are on their way, many people are still struggling with their finances. Senior citizens on fixed incomes are especially vulnerable. There are several ways to save money on meals to help you keep your dollars in your own pocket.

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