Nighthawks on the Kansas Levee

Jul 20th, 2010

The other evening while walking on the Kansas levee with Toby, I watched the nighthawks dive bombing for insects. Their wings look like boomerangs.  So when I got home that night, I did a google.com image search to find a picture to see if I was right to call them nighthawks.   My search brought me to a little audio lesson (a few seconds) that tells about the bird and its song.  Here ‘tis:  http://www.birdnote.org/birdnote.cfm?id=198  (click to play the MP3).  Note, the bird is really not a hawk but in the whippoorwill family.

What’s the tie-in with wellness?  Nature.  When we have a strong connection with nature, life is more interesting.  In fact, I drove home from the dentist in torrential rain just now.  Lightning all around me.  My wipers couldn’t keep up.  After a quick prayer of safety for everyone traveling, I anticipated coming home and throwing open my front and back doors so the energy of the storm could move through my home.  Love it!  The temperature dropped 20 degrees or more – a welcome respite from the scorching heat. 

The wind was so fierce the rain blew in both the front and back doors.  So I propped my heavy umbrella in the doorway to keep the rain from the hard wood floors (mostly).  I can think of nothing more relaxing than sitting in my oversized chair enjoying the surround sound of rain and thunder. 

Without a connection to nature we’re more likely to be afraid of bugs and stay cooped up inside our cars, homes, and office buildings.  And if we really lose sight of the benefits of nature, we may start to trash the landscape and use up more than our share of the natural resources.  Without a regular dose of nature, we’re more likely to feel stressed.  Spending time in nature has a dramatic calmative effect.

As I started this description about why it’s important to  have a connection with nature, a loud clap of lightening enlivened me (read: startled me).  What a great way to revive one’s energy.  I was getting a little sleepy on the drive home….until the rain hit.  Now I’m alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic – just like the Girl Scout song says.  I found several renditions of this song on youtube – from many different cultures.  I thought I was the only one who thinks that song is cool!  And fun!

How does nature impact your wellness?  Share at the comment link below.

Weekend Chores – Like Money in the Bank

Jul 19th, 2010

You get home from a long, tiring day…..open the fridge……see a wall of produce in plastic bags…..shut the door and head to Taco Bell or Applebee’s.  The same thing happens the next day because you’re even more tired and busier.  By day 3 or 4 you get an attitude about it (annoyed with yourself for being lazy and wasteful, annoyed at your spouse because he/she doesn’t cook, frustrated with your busy family life that gets you to bed by 11 and up by 6 – day after day).  Finally on the weekend you clean out the drippy mess and either put the fruits and veggies in the real compost pile or in the trash and vow to do better. 

I’ve done this myself so I know what I’m talking about. 

One secret to success is to keep a list of everything perishable that’s in your refrigerator so you can plan meals.  Take the list to work with you and while on break or enjoying  your morning tea, ponder the list for meal ideas.

Another secret is to better manage your fridge, and do it on the weekend or whenever you feel you have the most time.  It doesn’t sound appealing, but it’s very satisfying to take everything out, see what you have, and then put it back in an orderly way.  If you have a few extra minutes, prep as many of the fruits and veggies as you think you’ll eat in the next few days. 

I just did this and I feel very virtuous.  Now I can start the week with a hopeful attitude about cooking and eating at home.  In fact, while I was cleaning and organizing my fridge, I made a salad for tomorrow and bagged up snack baggies of cherries and grapes. 

I’m not always successful, but I like to get the week off to a smooth start by getting the following chores done on the weekend:

• getting groceries
• planning meals for the week
• cleaning and organizing the refrigerator
• doing laundry
• changing the bed sheets
• mowing the lawn
• calling friends and family (not really a chore but it’s on my mental list each week)
• cleaning, dusting, and vacuuming

And if I really want the week to go smoothly, I spend several hours doing whatever I want to do relaxing and having fun.  If all I did was chores, I would soon see the corners of my mouth droop – and no one wants to see that.  So I have plenty of fun too.  This weekend I lounged on my deck for hours working on a writing project, had a wonderful brunch with my Lawrence “family,” and bowled for the first time in decades.  Thankfully they now have automatic scoring.  My first game was 112 and the second was 165.  Then we celebrated with a snow cone – another thing I haven’t done for decades.  So it was a great weekend and I’m ready for the week ahead. 

How about you?  Leave your comments and stories at the comment link below.

A Wellness Moment When Life Takes a Turn

Jul 14th, 2010

With much flurry, I emailed my blog subscribers that the Spring Clean Your Body series would be extended through June….then I got the call that my mother had colon cancer.  After several nights of tossing and turning about the tossing and turning events of life, I headed to Sanford, North Carolina to the Parkview Retirement Community.  The day after arriving, I got mom out of the hospital (no easy task) and into a rehab hospital one hour away in Pittsboro (also no easy task).  After a Dairy Queen treat with my dad, we settled down for a few wellness moments of story telling.  With my handy Flip video camera I pressed the red record button and dad reminisced.

Even though he has dementia, he can recall old stories with a good deal of accuracy.  But at this stage in life, accuracy is less important.  In fact, if someone asks what he had for lunch and he doesn’t remember, he’ll make something up.  That’s pretty smart.  An accurate account of life is over rated when you have dementia or when you’re listening to a story you’ve never heard before. 

The next day I took him to the emergency room for congestive heart failure.  After a stay in ICU, he was released – so glad to go home—read the paper, take a nap, read Time magazine, take a nap, watch Larry King or CNN, take a nap, eat dinner, take a nap, and then go to bed.  It gets simple for old folks.  And complicated for their kids.

So here’s a peek into my dad’s life the day before hospitalization.  He tells stories about his 44 years of selling on the road. 

Caring for An Aging Parent (EAP Services)

Jul 14th, 2010

Over the next several days, I will share stories and interviews about the journey my siblings and I are taking with our aging parents. I’ll post several short video interviews of my mom and dad. Many of you are currently on this journey. And many have already completed this journey. I welcome your comments at the end of each post. Just click on the comment link.

If you have an EAP program at your place of employment, contact them for services associated with aging.

As we live increasingly longer lives, more and more of us are finding that our loved ones need ongoing and long-term care. This care often falls to grown children, individuals in their forties, fifties, and sixties who are busy with work and often times have children still at home. Most of us have heard of “getting caught in this care-giving sandwich,” but it can be a real emotional and financial burden. This is especially true if you are new to the responsibility.

If you are about to become a caregiver, here are a few things that you might want to consider. First, you’ll need to think about some legal and financial matters. To provide good care for an elder loved one, it may be necessary to deal with care facilities, insurance, powers of attorney, and many more complex issues.

Figuring Out What Needs to Be Done

The following is a checklist that can help you determine what your loved one may need. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Simply use it to make your own list of things to do or to research, if necessary. Then you’ll be in a better position to ask others for help with the short and long-term tasks.

Remember also, there may be many terms or phrases used in the information below that you are not familiar with. Again, don’t be overwhelmed. A simple call to the HealthQuest EAP can be a real “clarifier,” and a great place to start. You can get an eldercare expert to help at no charge!

Type of Care Needed

To determine the types of care your loved one may require, ask yourself the following questions:

• What kind of care does my loved one need now and how will that change in the future?
• Could my loved one be taken care of at home if he or she had help from a skilled nurse and/or a health aide?
• Would assisted living be appropriate for my loved one?
• Will he or she require a skilled nursing facility now or in the future?
• Does my loved one’s mental condition require him or her to have special care and housing?

Health Insurance and Medicare

The following questions will help you understand what kind of health care coverage your loved one has or may need:

• What are the likely costs of the care my loved one will need?
• What do Medicare & Medicaid cover?
• What kind of health insurance does my love one have, and what does it cover?
• What if my loved one doesn’t have long-term care insurance? Does he or she need it?

Taking Over Finances and Decisions

The time may come when you or family members need to make basic financial and health care decisions for your loved one. Be sure to get answers to these questions:

• Does my loved one have a living will (advance health care directive) or power of attorney for finances? If not, how can I help get the necessary documents?
• Is my loved one no longer capable of making his or her own decisions or consenting to a power of attorney?

End-of-Life Issues

Finally, here are some important issues to consider about wills and other arrangements at the end of life:

• Does my loved one have a will? If not, how can I help them create a legally binding will?
• Has my loved one communicated any wishes for final ceremonies and the disposition of his or her body?
• Has my loved one shared information on where to find important documents and passwords regarding bank accounts, retirement accounts, safe deposit boxes, stocks, life insurance policies, and wills or trusts?

Get Personalized Help

After you’ve reviewed the list above and have an idea of the tasks and issues involved, take a deep breath and remember that you can get the help you need. To begin, you can encourage your loved one to be as involved as possible in his or her care. Avoid taking control of tasks that your loved one can still perform. The more your loved one is allowed to do, the longer he or she will be able to maintain a sense of ownership over the course of his or her own life.

Then, make some phone calls. Your employer’s EAP program is a good place to start.

Finally, remember that caring for an elder relative is not easy, and you deserve all of the support you can get. During the hard times, it might help to remember that what you are doing is noble and generous. Whether or not your loved one is able to express it, he or she is fortunate to have someone who is willing and able to do the job you’ve taken on.

This article was provided by AlternativesEAP.