What Is Conscious Eldering?

It's wonderful to see organizations like this one showing up more and more. There seems to be a new set of values and insights emerging regarding aging and elderly wisdom. This group, called 'The Center for Conscious Eldering', supports a healthy perspective on aging as a paradigm which recognizes and builds on the importance of lifestyle choices and the potential for new careers in the senior years, but moves beyond these.

Conscious Eldering holds that, built into the human psyche, is a call to the archetypal role of elder, that true “elders” are urgently needed in today’s (and tomorrow’s) world, and that “elder” is a role that is consciously chosen and requires preparation at all levels—physical, psychological and most importantly, spiritual.

The following are the core beliefs of The Center for Conscious Eldering

• Age brings both diminished ‘and’ peak experiences.
• Senior years are a unique stage of life that bring opportunity for deep fulfillment.
• Elder-hood can be a time of passionate engagement and service in our communities. Elderhood is the result of choices that are consciously made. 

If this organization is near you, contact them! If not, why not start one of your own? After all, we are what we eat, both in body AND in mind. Change your mind, change your sense of well-being. Elder-hood is an honor. Lets encourage our aging loved ones to start thinking and acting that way. And watch how their wellness, or at least their sense of well being, changes for the better.

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Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

 

Limited Information Available for Families Looking for Residential Elderly Care

It’s important to be educated on issues that can arise when seeking living centers for your loved ones. Most of us end up learning the hard way. So some of my posts, like this one, address things to watch out for so you can ask good questions when looking for care solutions for your family elders.

Some states have scant information available for families looking for residential elderly care. Be sure you probe deep enough to find out whether the care home residence you want to place your mom and dad into is solid by checking in with state agencies. Problem is, you may have to do more than a little digging because, as in the California case talked about in this article, the state's website on residential care homes provides very limited and even outdated information. More so, people are turning to privately run websites but are not necessarily getting useful information there either.

Moral to the story: Don’t assume what you find on the web, or in your first round of research, that what you see is up to date. Dig a little further. After all, what we are doing is making sure our family members are well taken care of.

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Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Facilitating Independent Living with Home Health Care

When faced with the choice between living in an elderly care facility or aging as independently as possible at home, home health care is almost always the more desirable choice. Still, it’s not always easy to build a feasible support system for aging seniors who wish to retain as much independence and dignity as possible by continuing to live in their own homes.

There are ways to assess your situation. This articles takes a look at tangible issues that can help you make the right choice for your aging family member, including

• Realistic Evaluation of Need
• Benefits of Home Health Care
• Creating a Feasible Alternative to Facility Living

Family care can be a far less expensive alternative in some situations, but isn’t always feasible. Here’s some good advice toward helping you make the right decision.

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Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Any of You Just Realize You’re Now a Senior Citizen?

Often we don’t prepare for those big changes that come with getting older. So many things change. Not just our bodies don’t work as well, but society repositions itself around our age.

So I grabbed these 'senior citizen' links off the website. I guess I'm suggesting that it’s worth giving a little thought into making our later years happy and healthy. Starting with knowing of resources that are available to us as we enter our years of elder-hood.

• If you’re in my area, here’s a link to senior citizen resources within the Santa Cruz, CA area. (click here) 
• And here are resources at the .gov federal level. (click here) 

It’s a couple places to start anyway. Let me know if you find any golden nuggets and I’ll try to post them for all to see.

Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

A List of Senior Living Communities in the Santa Cruz, CA Area

I live in Santa Cruz, CA, which offers more than 30 senior housing options. For those of you in my area, you might want to try these Senior Living Advisors who offer personalized assistance, financial resources and advice. Looks like they’ve been around for awhile, helping 2,313 families in the Santa Cruz area to find senior care and living community options to match unique needs and budgets.
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I also found this Senior Housing Network, which has listings in our area for senior living. It could give you a head start in finding mom and dad that just right place for their senior years.
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And for those who just need some extra help with elders in the home, Santa Cruz Senior Home Care might have the right person to give you some support.
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Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

The Trials and Tribulations of Caring for Elderly Parents

I found this set of short stories at ‘The Huffington Post’ that I moved me. The stories address the blend of emotional and mental exchanges that arise regarding being cared for and ‘doing’ the care taking. I find that the closer we can read real stories, the more we can prepare ourselves for both the hell and the heaven of dealing with aging. Becoming at peace with the trials it delivers.

• Moving My Kicking-And-Screaming Elderly Parents 1,600 Miles To Be WIth Me
• What It's Like To Watch My Mother As Alzheimer's Creeps In
• A Pain Unlike Any I've Ever Experienced
• Why The Best Years Of My Life Were The Last Of My Parents' Lives
• Are You Caught In The Middle?
• Recognizing When Your Elderly Parent Has Dementia
• The Parent Left Behind
• Long Distance Caretaking: Assisting Elderly Parents From Afar
• As Our Parents Age, We Boomers Must Work Together

I think these articles help us to recognize that, in a way, we’re all grieving together as we encounter the final years with a parent. So we might as well lock arms and do it together. Because it’s the only way we'll make it through.

Read more …

Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

The Dilemma of Taking Care of Elderly Parents

It has become the baby boom generation’s latest life crisis: What to do when our parents, can no longer take care of themselves? But even more so, what if you’re one of the 60-year-olds reading this who has one or more living 80-year-old parents? You may want to scan this article, as it might help you come to terms with the reality that our new longevity being both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because we live longer, healthier lives. A curse because sometimes our own aging may be happening right along with our even older parents.

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Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Elderhood and the Stages of a Spiritual Life

I’ve really grown to love articles from ‘The Huffington Post’. They just seem to have a knack for addressing the real stuff of our lives. As you know, serving the elderly is my life work, and these stories address aspects of aging that often get overlooked, misunderstood, or just plane avoided. I encourage you to scan these stories and tell me what comes up for you? What emotions arise regarding your own aging, or maybe concerns or joys in your life with your aging parent. Elder-hood needs to return to our world as something to be revered, not commandeered.

• The Rock of the Elders
• Aging and the Importance of Belonging
• Elderhood and the Quiet Life
• Adulthood, Elderhood, Buddhahood: The Stages Of A Spiritual Life

Read more …

Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Keep an Eye on Your Loved One’s Money

I’m not big on talking about the negative side of things, but this one is important to address. Residents in senior care centers are vulnerable, and theft from nursing home trust funds is a common theme. Too often, the elderly are targeted. Especially in hard times like today, where staff are not receiving livable wages to take care of our elderly. I think this trend will increase, not decrease over the next few years. So we have to be sure that facilities have good financial safeguards and proper oversight for residents' money. Don’t get that unexpected phone call one day. Make sure there is good oversight on your family member’s money.

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Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Are Hospitals the Right Place for Your Family Elders?

Medical treatment for aging, chronically ill patients is costly and often ineffective. Can they get better care at home? Hospitals are fine for people who need acute treatments like heart surgery. But they are very often a terrible place for the frail elderly.

I’m interested in this business I found online, who provide “frailty courses” that help keep Grandma or Grandpa at home. Especially with the changing tides of insurance, along with growing medical complications, education like this may become a likely path for many of today’s elders and families.

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Theresa Tucciarelli
Elder Specialist

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Online Elder Care Locator

This Eldercare Locator looks pretty nifty. It’s a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging, and connects you to services for older adults and their families.

It also has a number of tools and resources such as Long Term Care Planning, Advanced Care Planning, Factsheets, Brochures, and other useful Federal Websites. You can even talk with an online specialist right from the site.

Sharing Your Wii With Grandpa?!

It's interesting how technology has evolved. Amazing the things we can do with it. But I'll have to admit, I never thought I'd be sharing my son's Wii online gaming tool with my aging parents! LOL! But it works. Of course you know that exercise is important to keep the body functioning well - at any age.

Slowing Dementia - Movement Stimulates Our Brain

I like to note articles that talk about positive things we can do to support our close friends and relatives who are aging, especially those whose bodies just aren't what they used to be. Since dementia is such a difficult disease, I have spent time focusing on it in hope of finding ways to make elders who have it, to live - not just longer but 'better' lives. This goes for their families as well, who bare the burden of this challenging disease.

Seniors Offer Advice to Next Generations

I think books like this one are worth your review, as they address how elders can build meaningful community with little or no additional support. Titled "The Elder Wisdom Circle Guide for a Meaningful Life: Seniors Across America Offer Advice to the Next Generations" by Doug Meckelson Diane Haithman, it presents real life stories about the growth of a nationwide elderly wisdom group, which provides services to younger people. 

Efforts like this put meaning into everyone's lives, not just seniors. But especially so for our older folks, who are to often pushed into homes because they are too difficult to deal with. This in turn destroys their aging physical, mental, and emotional strengths even more. What if we found more ways to engage our Seniors? Maybe the burdens that come with aging would be so bad for them or us? ... You may be inspired by this guide. The authors website is elderwisdomcircle.org

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Theresa Tucciarelli

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Why Should We Listen to Old People?

America is ambivalent about the wisdom of older people in popular culture. On the one hand, the media provide us with buffoonish images of the old, like Grandpa Simpson. Or they positioned as "sages" - characters ranging from Yoda to Dumbledore. And yet, I believe that younger Americans are more open that us adults to the idea of older people being potential repositories of wisdom in their lives. This article encourages nurturing both ourselves and our children in this direction. 

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Theresa Tucciarelli

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Visiting Seniors with Dementia

Visiting seniors with dementia in care facilities can be scary, especially for kids. But with the right preparation and activities, visits to our senior family members with dementia can be beneficial to both the kids and grandma or grandpa.

There are things you can do to prepare your kids. This article touches on some ideas that may be helpful for those of you dealing with the early relationship changes that occur with dementia. 

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Theresa Tucciarelli

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Letting Go of Excess Possessions

One of the toughest parts of getting older is knowing when its time to let go of our life's accumulations of possessions.

It's so hard to do. So many stories folded into each trinket and item. Going through them can be memorable, but asking ourselves to let go of them is usually a struggle. When it's time for us to down size our lives, which is very common as we get older, having too many items can be an obstacle to feeling peace of mind.

This article addresses the subject of excess possessions, and I'd love to hear from you about your own situations. What are the struggles that you have had to deal with? And what were some of the ways you were able to make it easier? Please comment below.

Theresa Tucciarelli

Helping Seniors in Transition

http://aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Working with a Senior Move Manager

For those of you headed for the trials of moving as an elder, there are many factors to consider that will help make this- often difficult transition, just a bit easier. Here's an article that points out some of the qualifications in a good senior move manager. 

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Working with a Senior Move Manager

Downsizing or relocated from a beloved home is easier with this elder care professional. A Senior Move Manager is a professional who specializes in assisting older adults and their families with the emotional and physical aspects of relocation and/or aging in place. Senior move managers provide a multi-faceted approach to the move process: from space planning in the beginning to post-move support and advocacy. Though many senior move managers have backgrounds in gerontology, social work, health care, nursing and psychology, others come to this industry from the corporate world of project management, technology, accounting or marketing.  Read More ...

Theresa Tucciarelli

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Moving Mom or Dad Isn't Always the Best "Move"

As a moving specialist, I don't always tell my clients they have to move. Often staying put is the best solution. Considering the condition of the home, how it's laid out, and downsizing can often be achieved without a big move to a new location or special home for the elderly. I liked this article because it can help you to consider the early-on possibilities of simply changing your mom and dad's existing home. Certainly, there is an expense either way, but that's not always the only criteria is it?

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Theresa Tucciarelli

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000

Good News For Boomers and Seniors

I often find great resources on the web, and want to share them with you. 

Here's one called "Senior Voice America" that focuses specifically on the baby boomer generation, 55+ and older. Senior Voice America brings seniors together with resources and activities in your communities. 

They recommend professionals like doctors, attorneys, financial planners, and many other experts from around the Bay Area in California, and around the Country, that enlighten you to a host of elder-related topics.  Subscribe to them by clicking here.

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Theresa Tucciarelli

aMoveMadeSimple.com

(831) 539-1000