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Being There, and Far Away
By Anne C. Roark September 4, 2009
When my parents were in their 50s - the age I am now - my father told me not to do for them what they had done for their parents: become their caregiver when they were old.
Years of responding to the needs of four elderly parents had taken a toll, especially on my mother. To protect me from a similar fate, my father told me that if the time came that he and my mother could no longer live alone, I should find a retirement community or nursing home for them far enough away to keep family visits to a minimum. Caring for an aging parent, my father insisted, is a duty best discharged from afar.
What my father didn't understand is that whether one lives next door or across the country, the responsibility for elderly parents never goes away. Caring from afar is no easier than being there. It is simply different. On-site hands-on caregivers are like day laborers who do the actual physical work. Distant caregivers are like off-site managers who coordinate services and delegate responsibilities. Both have their roles and points of high stress.
At least, that's what I tell myself. And if it weren't for the guilt I feel, it would be true. Read more |
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Conflict Resolution Month
October is Conflict Resolution Month and we will be speaking at several events next month to spread the word about resolving eldercare conflicts. Our audience includes professionals and families - providing information about how Conflict Resolution can be helpful in the eldercare arena:
Click here for more information on Conflict Resolution Month. |
A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age
by Daniel H. Pink by Riverhead Hardcover
Hardcover 
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $13.30 Buy Now
A shift is underway - from an information-age to a big-picture, inventive, empathic Conceptual Age. Daniel Pink describes this shift and outlines six fundamentally human abilities essential for professional success and personal fulfillment - Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning. |
Resources for Older Adults
Ongoing education -- an important component of brain health.
Active Minds® is a Colorado based provider of lifelong learning programs for seniors and adults of all ages. Their mission is expanding lives and minds with community based educational programs. They currently provide programming in over 100 Colorado senior residential communities and over 130 community based locations, relying on over 30 carefully chosen and extensively trained teachers.
Individual class topics range across a broad spectrum of important issues from historical themes, political issues and international conflicts to local topics such as the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation or Colorado ballot initiatives. With each topic, Active Minds® maintains a strict commitment to objectivity, always seeking to present each side of an issue fairly. If you are interested in learning more about Active Minds, be sure to visit their website at www.ActiveMindsForLife.com or call them at 303-320-7652. |
