Text 3189, 78 rader
Skriven 2010-10-28 23:20:55 av Nancy Backus (1:261/1381.0)
   Kommentar till text 3109 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
Ärende: Re: keeping busy
========================
-=> Quoting Ruth Haffly to Nancy Backus on 25 Oct 10  21:37:19 <=-

 RH> I understand. A few weeks ago we came home from church on Sunday night
 RH> late enough that we didn't want anything much to eat but needed
 RH> something since we'd not eaten since a late-ish (about 2pm) dinner. 
 RH> All we did was pop up some pop corn--it filled us enough to satisfy us
 RH> without putting a lot into our stomachs so close to bed time.

A light snack-y Sunday supper has been a tradition in our family for
years... Main meal early afternoon, no time to eat before evening
church, and getting home too late for a real meal after... but then,
generally we'd eaten well enough at dinner to not be all that hungry
still anyway.  :)

 RH> My parents have lived in a house all their married life except the
 RH> first year. It shows too, as kids left home, the empty spaces were
 RH> filled with Mom's and Dad's things.  We may need a dumpster to clean
 RH> the place when they pass away.
 
That happened in my parents' house here, too... and they'd only been
here a short time before kids started moving out... Of course, it was
something like 16 years later when the last one moved out...  ;)  There
was talk of needing a dumpster for their house, too.  A lot of stuff got
moved into a storage place... my brother is still working through some
of that....  and the family had a yard sale when my parents moved down
with my sister, and the house went on the market...  I don't remember if
they actually did get a dumpster or not... ;)  Maybe enough stuff had
already been taken care of by then... :)

 RH> Sounds like she has a good set up now. I would like my parents to
 RH> consider something like that but doubt they will.  If Dad goes first,
 RH> either someone (probably my younger brother) would move in with her or
 RH> one of us would have to take her in.  Dad could probably maintain his
 RH> independence a bit longer but eventually would need some sort of
 RH> assistance.

They (or either of them) would probably be able to maintain independence
in the home as long as they got sufficient support there in the home. 
There are increasingly more programs designed to keep seniors in their
homes and out of nursing facilities for as long as possible, even for
those whose insurance is simply a Medicare plan and/or Medicaid.  Aides
and housekeepers, meals on wheels, etc, can make the difference.

 RH> My parents have made some of the changes needed, but not nearly all
 RH> that should be done.  Probably one of the better things was my brother
 RH> 'bullying" them into getting a Life Alert type system put in after Dad
 RH> broke his hip.  We've tried to encourage them to keep the cordless
 RH> phone with them in the living room when they're there (most other
 RH> places there's easier access to a phone) but the idea hasn't "taken"
 RH> yet. Maybe it will in time.
 
It's something to get used to the idea of.  Especially if they are more
used to old-style phones... ;)

 RH> My parents do their own shopping, Dad riding a cart and Mom walking,
 RH> holding onto a buggy for all she's worth. Dad doesn't trust her to
 RH> "drive" a cart but the walking isn't good for her in a lot of ways
 RH> either.  She's the one that has to reach to the upper shelves but has
 RH> so much pain doing so.

Some stores provide help for seniors that can't ambulate or reach well,
going around the store with them, as well as providing the "go-carts". 
There are grocery push carts that have adult seats in them, too.
 
 RH> Closer to that than wanting to live in an papartment.  There's a lot
 RH> of problems to be dealt with still to allow them to do so tho.

They (or someone on their behalf) should look into whether there is an
agency in town that coordinates services for seniors, particularly those
still in their own homes.  Having someone trained that can find the
services needed is invaluable... much easier than trying to track it all
down onesself...

ttyl     neb

... Inane tagline found.  Abort, Retry, Swipe a better one.
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.20
 * Origin: The Holodeck BBS Roch, NY telnet://holo.homeip.net (1:261/1381)