Ok, I will write this again. Would you believe I was all done except one sentence and hit the wrong button and erased the whole thing. Maybe I should be writing about taking care of your elderly parent while you are elderly...
Two of the hardest things for the elderly to do is:
#1. Giving up their drivers license. I can so understand this as that is the one birthday I just couldn't wait for it to arrive where I could get my drivers license and to this day remains one of my most cherished possessions.
The elderly don't have to quit driving because they can't drive but because they can no longer multi task fast enough. If they could just drive slowly to the grocery store and home there would be no problem. But no, that is not what happens, people tailgate them, honk their horns, give them dirty looks and pass dangerously because in this rush, rush world no one wants to wait. People pull out in front of them and they can't react fast enough. The idea?? Not that we need to learn patience and remember when they taught us to drive and we weren't so good either but they patiently kept at it and we learned to drive. No people have no patience for anyone that can't do things as fast as they want, that includes checkers in the grocery store, waitresses, everything has to move at 100 miles per hour or people become rude.
#2 Having to wear hearing aids. This one I fail to understand as I would think they would want to hear but not they swear they can hear and that is not what you said. I had a friend that said that is the one thing she is not going to do to her kids, she is getting a hearing aid and she is wearing it. I say, lets wait and see when you get that age as I don't know one person that does not fight this with every excuse they can think of. I have to remind myself over and over and over again as this is one of my downfalls when she can's hear me because she won't wear her hearing aid that at one time in my life she could not understand me and she remained patient and learned to understand what I needed. Again this is a to fast world and we don't' have the time to explain over and over and over, but wait, didn't they do that with us when we were kids?
Part of the problem with taking care of elderly parents is the role shift from parent to child again and they are still the parent. They don't want to follow rules but then neither did I when I was small and we need to remind ourselves of that.
We need to be patient with the fact that their hands become arthritic and they drop things a lot, kind of like when they had to pick our toy up off the floor 50 times as we could not hang onto it. The other day I was exhausted and so tired my eyes burned and I came home and she dropped a whole great big bowl of stew all over the floor. I know I rolled by eyes and thought why didn't you tell me you wanted a bowl that heavy out of the frig? Then I remembered the night she came home from work exhausted beyond exhausted and still had to fix supper only to walk through the door and find out that I had decided to bake a cake. I had chocolate cake all over the cupboard, the wall and the floor as I had lifted the mixer up before it had been shut off. I had dirty dishes everywhere. Instead of killing me she managed to say "thanks for the cake". I can still see the look on her face and it was not a thanks for the cake look, it was a verge of tears look.
I remember once back in the day that everything had to be ironed and me and my friends had taken all the clothes out of the dresser and closet to hide in for hide and seek. That time she was not patient she wanted to kill and I must admire her that she did not hit any of us but we learned a hard lesson and had to wash and iron everything in my room, took us 3 days before they could go home. We never played in the clothes again but I am sure she had to re-iron everything we had ironed and remember this woman farmed and worked full time.
When you come home and she has decided to paint the bathroom and then ran out of energy and had to quit and you have to finish when you had other plans remember back to the day that you and your friend decided to wax the floor with the good ole Areo wax that if you put on heavy turns yellow. Well we had watched TV and the floors looked like they had 1/2 " of wax on them so we decided to surprise mom and wax outs. Well mom worked at a grocery store and we were poor so she bought things on sale so their was two gallons of aero wax in the closet and we put all of it on our white floor and then went and rode our horses and came home just in time to get our socks on like she let us and slide around the floor polishing it. We opened up the door and our mouths flew open and tears in our eyes at the yellow smeared mess that once was a white floor. When she got home that time we were on our hands and knees with scrub brushes and suds up to our wrists crying and washing. Once again instead of killing us because she felt so sorry for us she ran us outside and she cleaned up that awful mess.
When I was in the hospital with my twins I had to stay a week. Right next to our area was the nursing home and on Sunday this little old lady came out with her chair and sit down in the hall. She had her pretty dress on inside out, she had makeup on but it was not a good job. She had fixed her hair pretty, or tried to and she just sit there looking so sad and every time someone would walk down the hall she would smile and then the sad look was back and her head would drop and she would sit some more. I asked the nurse about her as she looked so sad. She said the lady gets dressed up every Sunday and waits for her family to come and they never do. She said they come either for her birthday or Christmas and it is a duty time and you can tell they just want gone and only stay about 10 minutes. I asked how far away they lived and she said all 6 of them live in the county and some actually live right in town but they are to busy to come. I swore on that day that my parents would never be neglected like that ever. Sometimes circumstances make it where you have to put them in a nursing home but that doesn't mean you have to forget them. They are your parents and they never left you and believe me raising you they had many hard times but they always took time for you. Take time for them. How long does it take to make a phone call every night just to say "just wanted to say goodnight mom and to tell you I love you". Good morning mom just calling to say have a great day. How long does it take to spend an hour a week with her? How about stopping on your way home just to say hi and spend 5 or 10 minutes with them? How long? You have been their whole world since the day your were born and they have never forgot that you are a part of them.
Appreciate every day you have with your parents. I lost my dad.24 years ago and the biggest regret I have is that I did not quit my job and spend more time with him and now he is gone and I can't. Nothing is more important then the ones we love especially our parents who gave us life, who raised us in a time money was hard to find and yet they did not put us away somewhere, they did not give up on us, they loved us through it all.
I dread the day that my mom does not challenge my temper, my time and my patience because that will be one of the saddest days of my life but this time I was smart enough to spend as much time with my mom as possible. I will not look back with regret again and say I wish I had spent more time with them.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
4H and the eldery
One of the ways to stay active in having a 4H club. You do so much for the kids and leaders in all things are needed. They do cooking, sewing, animals, guns, photography, gymkhana, showmanship, cooking. Do you have a special interest you would like to share with some kids. Any skill you have call and see if they are needed.
Nothing keeps you young like a child. You can be a teacher and guide the kids to a better life teaching them responsibility. You need two of you to have a club but sometimes the 4H office can help find you a partner. They don't have to have your skills just help watch kids. They even have clover buds for the ones to young to be in 4H.
Do you like to bake? Do you like to garden? Sew? hike? read?
Another way to stay active with your mind and body is to volunteer at the hospital or one of the nursing homes. It can be as simple as reading to a patient or it can be delivering books and picking them up from the library to just a simple visit. Many of these people do not have anyone to come see them so just having someone care enough to say "hi" means a lot to them.
Do you have a skill you would think would be fun to do at the senior citizens building?
4H loves almost anything that helps the kids. Are you good at teaching manners to dogs? Are you good with makeup? hair? braiding? Stop and think about what you like to do from quilting to cooking to camping skills and call the 4H office and find out how to go about it.
Jon Gandy or Jill Eveland at 541-475-7107
Have a great day.
Nothing keeps you young like a child. You can be a teacher and guide the kids to a better life teaching them responsibility. You need two of you to have a club but sometimes the 4H office can help find you a partner. They don't have to have your skills just help watch kids. They even have clover buds for the ones to young to be in 4H.
Do you like to bake? Do you like to garden? Sew? hike? read?
Another way to stay active with your mind and body is to volunteer at the hospital or one of the nursing homes. It can be as simple as reading to a patient or it can be delivering books and picking them up from the library to just a simple visit. Many of these people do not have anyone to come see them so just having someone care enough to say "hi" means a lot to them.
Do you have a skill you would think would be fun to do at the senior citizens building?
4H loves almost anything that helps the kids. Are you good at teaching manners to dogs? Are you good with makeup? hair? braiding? Stop and think about what you like to do from quilting to cooking to camping skills and call the 4H office and find out how to go about it.
Jon Gandy or Jill Eveland at 541-475-7107
Have a great day.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Should have stayed in bed
Today was one of those days I should have just stayed in bed. I think everything I tried to do I dropped or made a mess.
I started to make mom her protein energy balls and I started and could not find half the stuff I needed to put in them. By the time I found it the ball mixture had dried out and I had to improvise to get them to hold together. I used honey. I could not find the vanilla yesterday so off to the store I went and got a new bottle. Guess who found the old bottle when I started making it? Now I have two large full bottles of vanilla.
The lesson I learned I should have known since I was about 9 years old and almost every time I go to cook something in a house that has two women who cook. I think I just got some of that at the store so I know I have it. WRONG...mom used it in something she was cooking so in the middle of what I am cooking off to the store I go. Energy balls mixtures dry out, you meat will get greasy sitting in the pan while you run to the store to get the soy sauce and brown sugar for the glaze. Lucky for me my salmon had not started to cook so I could still set it on a plate without it falling apart and it had not cooked long enough to stop, start the cooking and ruin it.
Then when I tried to make the smoothies this afternoon for the pm protein I made blackberry and banana. Well that sounded good but do you know how much blackberries stain especially when you blend them all to a liquid? Well now I do. I dumped it down the front of my light gray shirt and all over the floor and down the front of the counter. Got that mess cleared up and took it into the living room and my mom says "oh good a small one today because I am just to full for a big one". Now does she know I dropped it all over and being nice?
I went outside to do some work and tripped over the hose and did a cartoon dance across the yard dropping stuff everywhere but did not fall. The dogs loved that they got the scrapes instead of the chickens.
Forgot to run the dishwasher last night so had to take most of the stuff out of it and wash by hand now that it was all crusted and dried for me as I needed things that were in it. I ended up not getting anything put in the freezer for busy days and we had a sandwich for supper. Lucky I got the protein balls done where we got some protein.
Tomorrow will be a better day, I just know it will.
I started to make mom her protein energy balls and I started and could not find half the stuff I needed to put in them. By the time I found it the ball mixture had dried out and I had to improvise to get them to hold together. I used honey. I could not find the vanilla yesterday so off to the store I went and got a new bottle. Guess who found the old bottle when I started making it? Now I have two large full bottles of vanilla.
The lesson I learned I should have known since I was about 9 years old and almost every time I go to cook something in a house that has two women who cook. I think I just got some of that at the store so I know I have it. WRONG...mom used it in something she was cooking so in the middle of what I am cooking off to the store I go. Energy balls mixtures dry out, you meat will get greasy sitting in the pan while you run to the store to get the soy sauce and brown sugar for the glaze. Lucky for me my salmon had not started to cook so I could still set it on a plate without it falling apart and it had not cooked long enough to stop, start the cooking and ruin it.
Then when I tried to make the smoothies this afternoon for the pm protein I made blackberry and banana. Well that sounded good but do you know how much blackberries stain especially when you blend them all to a liquid? Well now I do. I dumped it down the front of my light gray shirt and all over the floor and down the front of the counter. Got that mess cleared up and took it into the living room and my mom says "oh good a small one today because I am just to full for a big one". Now does she know I dropped it all over and being nice?
I went outside to do some work and tripped over the hose and did a cartoon dance across the yard dropping stuff everywhere but did not fall. The dogs loved that they got the scrapes instead of the chickens.
Forgot to run the dishwasher last night so had to take most of the stuff out of it and wash by hand now that it was all crusted and dried for me as I needed things that were in it. I ended up not getting anything put in the freezer for busy days and we had a sandwich for supper. Lucky I got the protein balls done where we got some protein.
Tomorrow will be a better day, I just know it will.
Protein and the elderly
So many times as we age we do not get enough protein. Many elderly live off quick things as they don't want to fix a meal just for themselves or they don't eat very much and the first thing they usually miss is protein.
They eat fruit, cereals and sandwiches which don't have much protein. There is a way to make it more easy. Protein powder. You can sprinkle it on your salads or cereal. You can make smoothies with it which are simple and provide protein. Go to Dr. Oz. Tv and look under energy balls on his recipes and there are two recipes that make good energy balls.
My mom loves chocolate so I make up the protein balls that have chocolate chips, it helps her sugar cravings and her chocolate cravings but be sure and get the dark chocolate chips instead of the milk chocolate ones.
If you have some elderly people in your life if you have the time to take a day and cook for them it is great. You can google some recipes for freezer meals. My mom loves the Zeta and Lasagna ones. Get some of those aluminium containers and cook a big batch up and freeze with a label where all they have to do is put it in the oven.
Another one we love is chicken pot pies. Meatloaf freezes well too. This keeps them eating a meal instead of just a bowl of cereal. Remember to make small portions dinners and the recipes say how long to cook them.
You can also take zip lock bags and scramble eggs and put in bag along with their favorite things to put in an omelet. All they have to do is drop the bag in a pan of boiling water and cook until the eggs are done.
This is also a fun way for company. I have chickens and during the summer they lay to many eggs and during the winter they don't lay enough so I scramble the eggs and put them in a zip lock bag. If company shows up Friday night for the weekend just take a bag of eggs out of freezer and let defrost and the next morning chop up some onions, grated cheese, bacon bits, sausage (bacon and sausage can be froze too in sacks) and other favorite omelet items. The guests can get up when ever they want and go into the kitchen and get a zip lock bag dip some eggs and any other things they want and put in the hot water and everyone gets a personal omelet at the time they want to eat and not much work for you. You are not going into the kitchen each time someone gets up and cooking breakfast. Put the bread sack near the toaster.
The internet is such a great place for recipes. Just run freezer recipes and you will be amazed. Pick out some and try it out. You can make a whole months supply for your elderly mom in one day. They will be set for the week and you don't have to worry about them.
This also works so well for busy people as when you come home tired after working you can just throw one in the oven and have a healthy meal. For the working mom slow cooker recipes are also great, put it on, go to work and come home and eat.
I am not sure what the rules are for posting recipes of others on your blog so you are going to have to search for some. All people have different tastes so search for what you like. Just remember that the elderly need protein and a lot of them don't like meat as it is hard to chew so look for quick ways to add protein to their meals.
Mom also loves her smoothies and you can get veggies and fruits into her along with the protein. Her favorite I think is 1 cup almond milk, 1 cup blueberries, 1 banana, 1/4 cup of very well blended nuts, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tsp raw local honey, 1 scoop of the protein powder, 1 cup ice and blend away. I don't measure it, I just dump. This is my basic smoothie recipe when using fruit. I almost always use the banana but I use blackberries, raspberries, pineapple, apple etc. depending on what I have. She loves the banana and apple one which also helps keep them regular.
Another important thing for the elderly and for us is water, we need to have a glass of water in our hand all day sipping it off and on through out the day instead of drinking a glass here and there. Dehydration causes problems with balance, dementia, appetite, bladder infections and everything else. Water is so important to any living thing. If you are trying to loose weight you will find that drinking more water keeps you from getting hungry because a lot of the time when you body says you are hungry you are actually thirsty.
The other thing be sure to tell yourself something positive everyday to be thankful for. The old saying of counting your blessings really does work to keep a good attitude and remember to count your blessings not someone else's blessings. This works better to fall asleep then counting sheep too.
Also be sure and check with their doctors for some ideas and if they think these ideas that I use for myself and my mom actually work too before you start. I sure have felt better since I got a hydroflax and fill it with water and take it everywhere with me. When I set at the desk it sets their too.
Another good idea is to get you an eliptical machine that will go under your desk. I got mine from QVC and I will never be without it again. This one I can pull out and use like a regular one standing on it and also put it under my desk and it has a place for my feet where I can use it while I sit and type. I spend so many hours at a computer working on my photos that it is an amazing object. My knee I hurt has improved 200% also using it because of exercise with a small range of motion that doesn't stretch the injured tendons to far. I LOVE it.
Have a great day everyone and I hope this helps in a small way. Just remember to check with their doctor and they might also have more ideas to help. Our elderly are so precious.
They eat fruit, cereals and sandwiches which don't have much protein. There is a way to make it more easy. Protein powder. You can sprinkle it on your salads or cereal. You can make smoothies with it which are simple and provide protein. Go to Dr. Oz. Tv and look under energy balls on his recipes and there are two recipes that make good energy balls.
My mom loves chocolate so I make up the protein balls that have chocolate chips, it helps her sugar cravings and her chocolate cravings but be sure and get the dark chocolate chips instead of the milk chocolate ones.
If you have some elderly people in your life if you have the time to take a day and cook for them it is great. You can google some recipes for freezer meals. My mom loves the Zeta and Lasagna ones. Get some of those aluminium containers and cook a big batch up and freeze with a label where all they have to do is put it in the oven.
Another one we love is chicken pot pies. Meatloaf freezes well too. This keeps them eating a meal instead of just a bowl of cereal. Remember to make small portions dinners and the recipes say how long to cook them.
You can also take zip lock bags and scramble eggs and put in bag along with their favorite things to put in an omelet. All they have to do is drop the bag in a pan of boiling water and cook until the eggs are done.
This is also a fun way for company. I have chickens and during the summer they lay to many eggs and during the winter they don't lay enough so I scramble the eggs and put them in a zip lock bag. If company shows up Friday night for the weekend just take a bag of eggs out of freezer and let defrost and the next morning chop up some onions, grated cheese, bacon bits, sausage (bacon and sausage can be froze too in sacks) and other favorite omelet items. The guests can get up when ever they want and go into the kitchen and get a zip lock bag dip some eggs and any other things they want and put in the hot water and everyone gets a personal omelet at the time they want to eat and not much work for you. You are not going into the kitchen each time someone gets up and cooking breakfast. Put the bread sack near the toaster.
The internet is such a great place for recipes. Just run freezer recipes and you will be amazed. Pick out some and try it out. You can make a whole months supply for your elderly mom in one day. They will be set for the week and you don't have to worry about them.
This also works so well for busy people as when you come home tired after working you can just throw one in the oven and have a healthy meal. For the working mom slow cooker recipes are also great, put it on, go to work and come home and eat.
I am not sure what the rules are for posting recipes of others on your blog so you are going to have to search for some. All people have different tastes so search for what you like. Just remember that the elderly need protein and a lot of them don't like meat as it is hard to chew so look for quick ways to add protein to their meals.
Mom also loves her smoothies and you can get veggies and fruits into her along with the protein. Her favorite I think is 1 cup almond milk, 1 cup blueberries, 1 banana, 1/4 cup of very well blended nuts, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tsp raw local honey, 1 scoop of the protein powder, 1 cup ice and blend away. I don't measure it, I just dump. This is my basic smoothie recipe when using fruit. I almost always use the banana but I use blackberries, raspberries, pineapple, apple etc. depending on what I have. She loves the banana and apple one which also helps keep them regular.
Another important thing for the elderly and for us is water, we need to have a glass of water in our hand all day sipping it off and on through out the day instead of drinking a glass here and there. Dehydration causes problems with balance, dementia, appetite, bladder infections and everything else. Water is so important to any living thing. If you are trying to loose weight you will find that drinking more water keeps you from getting hungry because a lot of the time when you body says you are hungry you are actually thirsty.
The other thing be sure to tell yourself something positive everyday to be thankful for. The old saying of counting your blessings really does work to keep a good attitude and remember to count your blessings not someone else's blessings. This works better to fall asleep then counting sheep too.
Also be sure and check with their doctors for some ideas and if they think these ideas that I use for myself and my mom actually work too before you start. I sure have felt better since I got a hydroflax and fill it with water and take it everywhere with me. When I set at the desk it sets their too.
Another good idea is to get you an eliptical machine that will go under your desk. I got mine from QVC and I will never be without it again. This one I can pull out and use like a regular one standing on it and also put it under my desk and it has a place for my feet where I can use it while I sit and type. I spend so many hours at a computer working on my photos that it is an amazing object. My knee I hurt has improved 200% also using it because of exercise with a small range of motion that doesn't stretch the injured tendons to far. I LOVE it.
Have a great day everyone and I hope this helps in a small way. Just remember to check with their doctor and they might also have more ideas to help. Our elderly are so precious.
Motorcycle ride at 91
When she turned 90 she wanted to ride her horse and she accomplished that. For her 91rst she decided she wanted LeRoy to take her on a motorcycle ride.
Getting on was the hardest part of the ride. She had knee replacement on one knee but the other one does not want to bend to get on very well but braced by grandkids to make sure she did not fall she got on.
There she is all smiles and a little nervous.
Once she wiggled around and got comfy nothing left but big smiles.
And off they go.....
Stopped for lunch at the Black Bear and some older people came out of the cafe and said "oh no they aren't really going to let her ride that are they?" I told them yes, she rode it down here. They were amazed. One lady said "I could not even get on". I said "pretty good for 91 isn't she". She said "91, you have to be kidding me, I am only 71 and I could not get on nor would I have the nerve to get on there." They all stood and watched her pull out of the parking lot.
I waited for them to come back through town headed home. She was amazed at how big the trucks seems and yet how secure she felt. She said it was so smooth and not even jerky when he pulled out that she could have rode all day long.
No matter how old you are keep your spirit of adventure young.Rejoice in every day the Lord gives us. Be thankful for friends that take the time to make your dreams come true.
And they are off again.
No matter how old you are keep your spirit of adventure young.Rejoice in every day the Lord gives us. Be thankful for friends that take the time to make your dreams come true.
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