Please watch at least the first two minutes of the following inspiring video.

The quality of the film isn’t super sharp, but the message is clear as a bell!

If you have trouble viewing the above, please click here.

When I dance, I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole.  That is why I dance.

~ Hans Bos

And if dancing isn’t your “thing,” what activity, interest or pastime in your life provides you with the utter joy and sense of accomplishment this Golden Oldie has found through dancing?  Once you’ve identified it, make time to indulge in whatever that activity is, both to simply pamper yourself and to forget about the stress and strains of everyday life for awhile.  You deserve it!!

P.S.  In researching this video, I’ve read reports that the woman is either in her 80’s or 90’s.  Her exact age doesn’t matter, as this proves that age is truly just a number.  She is young in heart and spirit, not to mention flexibility!

Please feel free to share whatever your diversion is in the comment section below.  Mine is also dancing — but a different kind called Lindy Hop or Swing Dancing.

“Music is part of being human.”

~ Oliver W. Sacks

To continue our celebration of and gratitude for all caregivers during National Family Caregivers Month 2009, TLeC is holding it’s very first contest!

• It is open to all caregivers, families employing caregivers, and/or eldercare professionals in the U.S.A.

• It starts November 16, 2009 and all entries must be received no later than 6pm PST on November 29, 2009.  The one (1) winner will be chosen at random and announced here on November 30, 2009. Prize will be shipped to the winner by TLeC.

• How to Enter:  Sign up for the TLeC Newsletter in the top right hand section of this page, under the blue headline “Get More Caregiving Tips from Tender Loving Eldercare!”  Type in your name and email address, click on the “Sign Me Up” button, and complete the one last step of clicking on the link in the confirmation email that will be delivered instantly to your inbox.  That final step is important — it both completes your newsletter sign up  and also enters you into the contest.  That’s all you have to do! Easy Peasy!

What Can You Win?

The prize is a wonderful DVD set called “Toe-Tapping Songs” created by Darlene Hamby, a music specialist in the eldercare field.  The set centers around a collection of 20 songs to sing along to.  They are all “feel good” tunes, and caregivers, seniors (or Golden Oldies as I like to call them) and their families will enjoy them. It consists of a DVD of a music session, with Darlene playing the piano and singing with senior citizens, and also includes six sing-along song books.  Inside the song books, you will find one page dedicated to each song containing the lyrics in LARGE PRINT and a photo to match the song’s theme.  It is packaged in a compact binder which is both easy to store and easy to travel with.

Darlene’s love of both music and Golden Oldies shines through as she sings and plays the piano on this DVD.  I’ve had the pleasure of participating in one of her live music sessions and I’m sure people of all ages will enjoy having their own sing-alongs with Darlene via this DVD.  This set can be used to create fun music sessions during family gatherings or in an assisted living facility’s activity program.  It will be a big hit over and over again in either setting!

Here is a preview of the prize:

DVD Sing-Along Music Set

Sample of a Song Page

Toe-Tapping Songs Table of Contents

So get your entries in now!  And please feel free to tell others about this contest in your caregiving world as well!  Thanks!

Now that it’s November, the countdown to the holidays has officially begun.

While most of the world seems to be living on a holiday “high,” caregivers often struggle through this time of year with great, and often hidden, sadness in their hearts.

For family caregivers the holiday season can be both blessing and a curse.  A blessing because it provides opportunities for wonderful family gatherings and a curse because it provides opportunities for wonderful family gatherings.

Can you feel your stress level starting to rise already?

Meredith Bailey of MyCareCommunity.org interviewed me for an article about the stress caregivers may experience before and during the holidays.  We hope you find the coping strategies and ideas presented in it helpful.  You can read the article here.

Carol Bradley Bursack, author of “Minding our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories,” contributed to Bailey’s article, too.  Her book is available in the TLeC E-store, on Amazon.com, and in other bookstores.

Also please take time to explore MyCareCommunity.org.  It is an online community of caregivers and eldercare experts sharing advice, experiences, stories, tips and resources. It looks like a worthwhile place for caregivers to connect and learn.

As a caregiver do you have holiday coping strategies you’d like to share with us?  Please write them in the comment section below.  Thanks!

Your care recipient will survive your absence for this short period, and will gain from it in the long run — as you will return to your responsibilities with a lighter heart and clearer mind.  It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.

~ Leo Tolstoy

Dear Caregivers,

Whatever challenges you face in caring for your loved ones today, know that with the passage of time these challenges will change.

The current issues will fade, and there will be a new set of challenges awaiting you to solve . . . or at best, survive.

When you’re feeling like you can no longer persevere, remember you are warriors and time and patience are your allies.  Hang in there!

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Photo Credit:  Nelson Minar’s photostream

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children:  one is roots, the other is wings.

~ Hodding Carter

I’ve always loved this quote!  With just a few tweaks, it applies to family caregivers:

There are two lasting gifts we can give our aging parents:  one is safety and security, the other is as much independence as possible.

~ Linda Abbit

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Photo Credit:  Kthypryn’s photostream

Here are two videos from YouTube that I came across this week and just loved!

The first one is funny and stars an animal friend who is musically-inclined.

If you have trouble viewing the video above, click here.

This second one is creative and has a wonderful message!

If you have trouble viewing the video above, click here.

To everyone in the TLeC community, have a great weekend!

“I am the Tax Man . . .”

Under the Freedom of Information Act, a man with a small business sent a request to the IRS asking if they had a file on him. The IRS wrote back, “There is now.”

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After reading a nursery rhyme to his child, an accountant says, “No, son. It wouldn’t be tax deductible when Little Bo Peep loses her sheep. But I like your thinking.”

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Ever wonder why the IRS calls it Form 1040?

Because for every $50 that you earn, you get $10 and they get $40.

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The stockbroker received notice from the IRS that he was being audited. He showed up at the appointed time and place with all his financial records, then sat for what seemed like hours as the accountant poured over them.

Finally the IRS agent looked up and commented, “You must have been a tremendous fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”

“Why would you say that?” wondered the broker.

“Because you’ve made more brilliant deductions on your last three returns than Sherlock Holmes made in his entire career.”

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“The Eiffel Tower is the Empire State Building after taxes.”  ~ Anonymous

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”  ~ Albert Einstein

“I am proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is – I could be just as proud for half the money.” ~ Arthur Godfrey

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To Everyone in the TLeC community, have a fabulous weekend!

Photo Credit:  Tracy O’s photostream

Antidotes for Spring Fever

Four high school boys afflicted with spring fever skipped morning classes. After lunch they reported to the teacher that they had a flat tire.

Much to their relief she smiled and said, “Well, you missed a test today so take seats apart from one another and take out a piece of paper.”

Still smiling, she waited for them to sit down. Then she said: “First Question: Which tire was flat?”

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Q. Can February March?
A. No, but April May!

Bulb: potential flower buried in Autumn, never to be seen again. ~ Henry Beard

If, instead of talking to your plants, you yelled at them, would they still grow, only to be troubled and insecure?

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If I could only grow green stuff in my garden like I can in my refrigerator.

A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.

Gardening requires a lot of water – most of it in the form of perspiration.

The best way to garden is to put on a wide brimmed straw hat and some old clothes. And with a hoe in one hand and a cold drink in the other, tell somebody else where to dig.

New gardeners learn by by trowel and error.

Credit: David Hobson’s Garden Humour

Dew is formed on leaves when the sun shines down on them and makes them perspire.

Mushrooms always grow in damp places and so they look like umbrellas.

The pistol of a flower is its only protection against insects.

Germinate: To become a naturalized German.

Rhubarb: A kind of celery gone bloodshot.

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I have no plants in my house. They won’t live for me.
Some of them don’t even wait to die, they commit suicide. ~ Jerry Seinfeld

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To everyone in the TLeC community, have a wonderful weekend!

Nature often holds up a mirror so we can see more clearly the ongoing processes of growth, renewal, and transformation in our lives.

~ Mary Ann Brussat

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People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

~ Sam Levenson (often attributed to Audrey Hepburn)

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If you watch how nature deals with adversity, continually renewing itself, you cannot help but learn.

~ Bernie S. Siegel

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Photo Credit: forestgladesiwander’s photostream