Elder Care Cafe

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 [...]

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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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In the midst of grief, it is often difficult to find the right words to express our feelings. I recently came across Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep, which contains over 250 carefully selected poems, quotations, and readings for use when you or someone close to you has lost a loved one.

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A few minutes ago, I was on the AARP website visiting the forum. Last year, I uploaded a couple of photos on that site of David when he was 9-months-old. Today I uploaded several taken last week now that he is 2 1/2. What a difference.

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For the past two weeks, my daughter and my two-and-one-half-year-old grandson, David, stayed with us while they visited area family and friends. They headed back to the Coastal Bend of Texas a couple of days ago. What a joy to see my little guy – I hadn’t seen him since he was nine months old. [...]

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Recently, I have noticed a growing number of seniors who either have continued working out of necessity after their retirement age, or have retired only to find they must make drastic changes in their lifestyle because they failed to plan financially.

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Not only does the baby boomer tsunami already threaten the Social Security (SSI) system, the growing number of workers laid off or offered early retirement packages places a further strain on the already overburdened system. For the next several years, the SSI will pay out more than it gains.

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Elder self-abuse and neglect are serious issues that are more common than most of us realize. A recent study published in the August 5, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)  found  through reported elder self-neglect and abuse an increased risk of death in those who elders who neglect their personal [...]

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