Text 3238, 137 rader
Skriven 2010-10-29 22:18:11 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
   Kommentar till text 3189 av Nancy Backus (1:261/1381.0)
Ärende: keeping busy
====================
Hi Nancy,

 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

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

Well, after this week we go back to Life Groups on Sunday
afternoon/evening.  Ours meets right after church so we have a meal with
it.  Then there's no evening service so we have a light supper around
7-ish.  But, a lot of times I've had to be at church at a time too soon
after the mid day meal to have another one so will just wait until
later.  Often Steve will grab a snack to tide him over before going but
I'm too full.


 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.

 NB> That happened in my parents' house here, too... and they'd only been
 NB> here a short time before kids started moving out... Of course, it was
 NB> something like 16 years later when the last one moved out...  ;)

It was about the same time frame for my parent from the first one moving
out to the last.  They'd been in the house 12 years tho before the first
one moved out.  Still, things accumulate to meet the free space
available, don't you know?


 NB> There was talk of needing a dumpster for their house, too.  A lot of
 NB> stuff got moved into a storage place... my brother is still working
 NB> through some
 NB> of that....  and the family had a yard sale when my parents moved down
 NB> with my sister, and the house went on the market...  I don't remember
 NB> if they actually did get a dumpster or not... ;)  Maybe enough stuff
 NB> had
 NB> already been taken care of by then... :)


Steve's mom & dad had an auction before they moved to Florida. They also
left a lot of furniture with the house for the brother and wife that
bought it.  I suspect my parents would let the one (99.99% sure it'll be
my yunger brother) getting the house keep a lot of the furniture.  It's
the piles of National Geographic, Reader's Digest, etc they need the
dumpster for.  Also they keep lots of empty boxes, plastic bags, etc,
etc that will get the heave ho.  Trains and related stuff will be combed
over finer and dispersed/disposed of as appropriate.


 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.

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

Trouble is, a lot of that is lacking in the area where they live.

 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.

 NB> It's something to get used to the idea of.  Especially if they are
 NB> more used to old-style phones... ;)

They've had a cordless for some years but used it to replace a desk top
model--the central phone for many years.  For a long time they just had
that and an extention in their bed room.  Then Dad added one down in the
cellar and one in the room that he uses for an office.  But if they're
in the living room, by the time they can get up and out of their chairs
when the phone rings, the answering machine has picked up the call.

 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.

 NB> Some stores provide help for seniors that can't ambulate or reach
 NB> well, going around the store with them, as well as providing the
 NB> "go-carts".

I don't know if the stores where they shop do. They talked about just
going to Wal-Mart and Staples on their last trip to Kingston for eye
exams. Said they had to wait 20 minutes for a ride-em cart for Dad.


 NB> There are grocery push carts that have adult seats in them, too.

They would need a pusher then.  Cute idea but I've not seen it.


 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.

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

Not too likely in Delaware County.  Economically depressed, rural, poor.
Doesn't seem to have much available for homebound programs for seniors
other than (I think they have MOW) a visiting nurse service. Plus, my
parent's own stubburn-ness, not wanting to admit that they could really
benefit from such services and wanting to keep their independence.


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... I am positive that a definite maybe is probably in order.

--- PPoint 3.01
 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)