Quality conditions and service vary significantly among Senior Care Centers. (Here we refer to Assisted Care, Memory Care, Nursing Homes, Skilled Nursing facilities, etc.) Usually the satisfaction of the resident is directly associated with the quality and effectiveness of that care. And that is usually attached to the overall costs charged back to the resident.

Quality care, however, even in those top of the line centers cannot always be presumed. Most such centers, not all, are profit making. This, as in any enterprise, drives the cost to service ratio. In smaller communities, even mediocre care can be expensive. While some residents enjoy both subsidized care and/or long term care insurance, the costs usually are such that additional resources must be called upon.

It’s time to discover Mazatlán, seniors.  If you’ve never been to Mazatlán, you are missing one of Mexico’s true gems.  Located on the Pacific Coast at the foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains, Mazatlán is Mexico’s second largest coastal city with nearly 600K citizens. Mazatlán, meaning “land of the deer” in the ancient Nahuatl language, [...]

While it is less and less likely that a paradise can be found, many senior citizens are still diligent in their search. Our travel section is so well visited and places and sites are so often searched that it is clear surfers are looking for places to go, sites to see, tranquility to experience. We seniors really are desperate these days for a captivating environment, where surroundings are serene and opportunities for a pleasant get away really do exist. They are out there, but the search requires diligence, discipline and care. It is so easy, as in so many things these days, to be unpleasantly surprised. The definition of paradise also needs to be carefully drawn. Finding where to go, how able you are to afford it, what may be the danger signs as you research it all are very necessary steps before leaving your own domicile.

I leave the technicalities of the search

With every movement and inflection, we telegraph how we feel, how our body is doing, what our stature and facial expressions are communicating every day. Body language is something we offer unawares. We don’t see what others experience when they encounter us. If we are stooped, our body is very likely responding to some discomfort or pain. If we are grimacing with our facial expressions, we are sub-consciously communicating that something is going on with our body. Noticeable to others, unknown to ourselves, every movement has a meaning and telegraphs how we feel.

If we shuffle across the room, finding it difficult to pick up our feet, we are letting others know that walking brings with it more than we can give. If we tread slowly going up or down steps, our knees, perhaps ankles and lower back are accommodating our body to share how difficult it is to transport our weight. Getting into our out of a chair or sofa may be a

A new resource is available from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that provides assistance for senior citizens to learn more about using the Internet and to acquire health information vital to managing one’s own medical situation. The National Institute on Aging (one of NIH’s institutes) has developed a tool kit to address the two [...]

Right now there are almost a dozen medications in my cabinet, requiring the discipline of my tracking, taking and keeping under control. That is, by my estimation, too damn many. I know the physicians mean well in their prescribing the various pills and other aids, but do they consider the challenge of my keeping up with them all, understanding their interactions, being aware if I forget to take one now and then?

Because new maladies occur, requiring new meds, one wonders how to balance all of them so they do what they are supposed to do. Right now, I am undergoing meds that address issues related to my intestine, which have been added on top of thyroid, incontinence, hot flashes, arthritis, and ad nauseum, or at least almost.

So what is

There is no more valuable asset a senior citizen has than time. Taking your time to enjoy the day, a trip, someone’s visit, a phone call, a sunset, a sunrise, a cup of coffee is a gift without measure. “I don’t have time” is a statement loaded with a curse. Not being able to be in control of how you spend your time, what you do, how you do it, with whom you do it ought to be the things that are the components of full retirement. “I don’t have time” is filled with turning over control of your entire life to something else, somebody else, somewhere else that should have no influence, importance, impact upon your person.

Taking your time means having the capacity to sit. It means you can do, think, exercise, wander, muse in any direction, at any time whenever and wherever you wish. My favorite is early morning with a cup of coffee or late afternoon with a cocktail. My favorite is alone or with someone. My favorite is when the sun is setting or rising or setting. My favorite is

One of the difficult pieces of dad’s dementia has been listening to his ‘onceinawhile’ verbal attacks.  They haven’t been frequent, nor have they been  vicious, both of which my hospice sister says could change.  One day, recently,  I went with my father to the gas station to fill his car.  He willingly and almost automatically [...]

Right now, we are less than 200 miles from the coast of Louisiana. It has been our neighbor for a whole lot of years. Culturally, it is a land of rich traditions, some unfortunate social divisions, and a unique culture. Part of that culture grows out of its proximity to the coast. It has supplied a wealth of rich sea food, an army of jobs and an assurance for income and tourism that has helped give this small state a claim on its place and contribution to the nation.

A result of the oil spill, another of the industries which have exploited the near Gulf coast for years, has been to demonstrate graphically how fragile our ecosystem really is. We can’t have it both ways. We have come to a crossroads in needing to choose between a fossil resource to power our energy needs and a paradise that may soon become barren and useless.

Living in an

Reality walked out the back door with Dad and his wife, our second mom, when any discussion about a move to their ’home state’ was on their plate.  It seemed for this 94 year old demented  father of ours and his 82 year old wife, that they would be able to handle the severe cold weather, the [...]