Lots of people are working all over the place at the Green House Homes at Woodland Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia. At Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC) the staff is in training, the furniture is arranged, and everywhere people are making last-minute tweaks. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the kitchens? One of the homes will … Continue reading
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As Our Parents Age — 2012 in Review by WordPress
WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this As Our Parents Age. Check it out! Here’s an excerpt: This blog had 41,000 views in 2012! Click here to see the complete report.
Making a New Year’s Weight Loss Resolution? Drive Less
If you, your senior parents, or anyone else in your family is thinking about weight loss as a New Year’s resolution, watch and listen to this short National Library of Medicine (NLM) video that explains how newly published research in the journal Preventive Medicine has found an inverse association between the number of miles a person … Continue reading
The Green Houses are Here — at VMRC!
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time or even occasionally, you know that I’ve been keeping track of the new Green House Homes at Woodland Park with descriptions, pictures from the groundbreaking, and many construction images. The new neighborhood in Harrisonburg, Virginia, will be a special community that enables elders who have traditionally needed … Continue reading
We Lost a Son and Brother to Mental Illness: Violence Was Not an Issue
Like everyone else I’ve been glued to my computer, newspapers, and the radio, keeping track of the catastrophic and heartbreaking events that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut. As a parent and an educator, I’ve alternated between tears and anger, prayer and frustration, trying to understand how someone could murder little children and their teachers, and imagining … Continue reading
Eleanor Roosevelt Understood Aging
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art. — Eleanor Roosevelt beau·ti·ful byo͞otəfəl/ Adjective Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically. Of a very high … Continue reading
Understanding My Aging Eyes After My Detached Retina
I’ve written several posts about eye medical care (post on cataracts – posts on detached retinas). Sometime soon I will share a bit more about my experience with cataract surgery — mine occurred several weeks ago. Recently I discovered a terrific eye education resource. If you are trying to make sense of the medical health of your … Continue reading
Inside the Dementia Epidemic: A Book Review
A few years ago, when my mother-in-law was sinking deeper and deeper into dementia, my husband and I suddenly realized, with some help from professional geriatric counselors, that the devious brain disease had been lurking for some time. Although we had noticed a number of memory issues and behaviors, we continually chalked them up to … Continue reading
Woodland Park Green House Homes-Finishing Details: November 22, 2012
Today is Thanksgiving, and I am grateful that I had a chance to tour one of the Green House Homes at Woodland Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Woodland Park is a part of Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, and it’s almost finished! I learned today that when people visit one of the beautiful homes, they will ring … Continue reading
Grab Bars and Railings, Not Just for Elders: My Cataract
Who knew that when we installed all sorts of grab bars and railings in our house — intended to help our elder parents — they would be useful to me years before retirement? I am using these accommodations all the time just now because I have a cataract, and those relative small but important changes … Continue reading
Elder Parent Caregiving During and After SuperStorm Sandy
When my husband’s mother lived in an excellent assisted living community, we found severe weather to be a challenge. Huge storms, no matter what the season, made it difficult to stay in touch. Gail Sheehy’s November 3, 2012 article about elder and medical caregiving during Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy is posted over at Caring.com. It’s a must-read … Continue reading
Staten Island Storm Relief 56 Years Before Sandy: iPad for Dad, #22
Today my father sent me a blog post (written on his iPad) with 1956 memories describing how past Staten Island floods made people flee their homes and the relief efforts at his church. Looking at a map I believe he is referring to Midland Beach. My Staten Island Years and the Vulnerable Coastline Along the Lower … Continue reading
How Many Inhalers Have You Thrown Away? New Recycling Program
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) just announced a recycling program for its inhalers. Quite a few people, including many of us, our elder parents, and our children, use inhaled medication, often over many years. As a result asthma sufferers do not have to think much about their potential breathing difficulties. Until now as each person finished an inhaler, it … Continue reading
Empowering Through Design: What a Health-Wellness Concept!
We’ve all had experiences trying to accomplish a task that is way too hard — and one reason it’s so difficult is because the environment is not designed to help a person function and work efficiently. Many of us have watched our aging parents grow frustrated, especially in medical settings, where equipment and furniture is … Continue reading
FTC Looking for Ideas to Stop the Likes of Rachel from Credit Services
Are you tired of receiving calls from Rachel at credit card services? Older seniors, your parents perhaps, feel helpless when they receive these manipulative, and illegal telephone calls. During the last few years of her life, my husband’s mother sometimes became quite distressed when she answered the phone and heard Rachel or one of her … Continue reading
Senator McGovern in Hospice Care
Hospice offers so many options and opportunities to families. This Associated Press article appeared in today’s Washington Post (10-16-2012). It is worth reading.
VMRC Green House Homes Update – September 22, 2012
I get to Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC) to visit my parents about every two weeks. Each time I drop by the Woodland Park construction site to see how the Green House Homes are coming along. The hope is for new residents to move into at least some of the homes in January. As I’ve … Continue reading
More on Rising Medicare Part D Drug Premiums
Take a few minutes to read As Medicare Drug Premiums Soar It’s Time to Shop Around, another informative article about prescription drug plan open season. This October 2, 2012 Reuters article by Mark Miller goes into considerable detail about the rising premiums and explains what steps Medicare beneficiaries can take to shop around. Best Quote from … Continue reading
Medicare Prescription Drug Plans: Basic Info for 2013
It’s that time of year again — the open season when Medicare beneficiaries keep, change, or make modifications to their prescription drug benefit plans (Part D). A September 25th Associated Press (AP) article, Report: Double-Digit Premium Hikes Seen in 7 of 10 Top Medicare Prescription Drug Plans appeared online in The Washington Post. Adult children with elder parents should treat this … Continue reading
Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses Loom Large Despite Medicare
Adult children who help aging parents should check out the Washington Post article At End of Life, Medicare Beneficiaries Spend Thousands Out-of-Pocket. Reporter Sarah Kliff explains that a recent study, Out of Pocket Spending in the Last Five Years of Life (abstract), published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, examined the amount of money that aging … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 