Carol MarakAging: Help Planning for Your Future
Aging happens naturally, but aging well takes careful planning. Take steps to ensure that your financial, living, and medical needs are met in old age. When thinking about the elderly years and how they will play out usually starts after caregiving. It's when people understand the difficulties of growing older. Some see their parents deal with heart problems while others confront dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Observing decline is heart-wrenching. Caregivers feel parents are invincible but soon find out the contrary. What families learn about growing older is that getting organized and prepared for the golden years will help them the
Continue readingHow Aging with Friends Fills the Void of Being Alone
The concept of growing older without household support can be a shocking wake up call. That’s what happened to me after providing home care help for my older parents. The needs they had were extremely challenging for my sister and I, and when they died, it forced me to question, who will do all that for me? You see, I’m single, and have no children. How Aging with Friends Fills the Void of Being Alone The care I provided for mom and dad included daily living tasks like house cleaning, cooking, shopping, transportation to medical appointments and treatments, and even
Continue readingMaking Friends Later in Life
Having friends makes life a lot more fun, enjoyable, and easier to deal with challenges. But as one grows older, research shows it's harder to hang on to established connections and companions because we retire and leave the workforce. And a big part of our relationships develops with people on the job. Making Friends Later in Life When retired, seniors enjoy their free time and travel more, taking time away from developing new relationships. Some seniors move to another city, perhaps be closer to their children and grandchildren. When doing so, the move puts an end to establish long-term friendships and
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Susan Saurel11 Books Which Expand the Outlook of Seniors
Needless to say, there is nothing as interesting as reading a good book. They bring us to places we’ve never been to, motivate us to follow our deepest passions, but most importantly, help us understand the world we live in other ways. No matter how wise we think we are, reading a great book can only make us wiser. The more we read, the more we recognize how books bring people from different generations or walk paths together, improving our understanding of those minds we find it hard to connect with. It’s important to mention that recent studies conducted at
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Barbara Bates SedoricTreasuring Holiday Letters
A tall stack of Kodak photos printed on shiny rectangular cards of a family of four sits stapled together with the corresponding holiday letter written with care by “mom” each year. She probably spent a lot of time crafting the ubiquitous yearly holiday letter and thought about what her intended message would be to those she sent cards to each December. The words paint a picture of accomplishments, changes, and reflections of the ups and downs of a year in a family’s life. An old card table is set up in the middle of the bedroom with a box containing
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Kathy MacaraegHow to Maximize Home Visits with Aging Parents
If you are a long distance caregiver, or just don’t live close enough to visit your parents on a regular basis, you may not have enough time to evaluate how they are doing. Here are some ways to maximize your visits so that you get quality time but also check in on their ability to safely live independently. How to Maximize Home Visits with Aging Parents Leave the House This may sound like an odd suggestion, but I worked with many families who were very close and the adult children visited regularly, however, they had no idea that their parent had a
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Kendall VanBlarcomCoping with the Emotions of Downsizing
Many older adults find themselves coping with the emotions of downsizing, these emotions may include anxiety, stress, and sadness. Take time to speak with a counselor and work through your emotions. Not so that you won’t feel the way do, but so you can understand why. Reasons You May Feel Sad Moving from a big house to a smaller house, an apartment, or into a relative’s home, can be a good solution for many older adults. Whether the shift is due to health concerns or financial constraints, know that a good decision can also come with feelings of sadness. Sometimes
Continue readingHow Technology is Disrupting Aging
A report by the Consumer Technology Association says the active aging industry which includes safety and smart-living technologies, health and remote care, and wellness and fitness technologies will triple over the next few years. It confirms that health and remote care lead the way. As boomers grow older, they gravitate to more activity, independence, and technology as the big disruptor allowing these goals. If you're an entrepreneur with tech development skills, here's your opportunity. Medicare Advantage Plan companies continue to sink revenue into technology as a big part of the puzzle of how they provide health care services that the
Continue readingIs Your Relationship Worth Saving?
Sometimes when one partner is rarely home it can be annoying or confusing for their mate, leading to one wondering if the relationship is worth saving. For example, if one partner spends most of their day caring children, there’s no personal time available to them, it’s all about taking care of the children. That partner looks anxiously at the clock, knowing that her significant other will be home before the children go to bed, and she can get some relief. Yet, for the partner who has spent 8-12 hours working at outside of the home, they are likely ready to
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