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Enjoying Some Thanksgiving Notes With the Elderly
A few days ago, we participated in an early Thanksgiving meal with my 91-year-old mother Ginny at her assisted living / memory care residence. The evening included some live musical entertainment and while mom was watching the singer, I was watching her feet tap to “That’s Life” and hearing her sing the last few notes…
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Reunions Inside a Senior Community
“Hi Mom, I wanted to tell you that we’re going to see you soon” I shared in a recent phone call with my 91-year-old mom Ginny who lives in memory care. It was the first time we had talked in five weeks. Her residence had experienced a heavy Delta variant surge which left many residents…
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A Conversation with Sharon Marchisello
In early 2000, author Sharon Marchisello’s mother, Lolita, seemed to understand that something was different and once told her daughter “Losing your mind is a terrible thing.” She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and the whole family was learning how to adjust to life with a loved one who was quickly changing. Years later, with…
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Delta Developments
Ten days ago, I began to receive an unsettling drumbeat of emails from the senior residential community where my 91-year-old mother Ginny lives. August 28th: “We now have 2 confirmed cases in Memory Care.” August 29th: “we currently have two (2) positive cases in Memory Care and two (2) positive cases in Assisted Living.” August…
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Life Inside Memory Care
It has been almost a year since my mother Ginny turned 90 during the Covid lockdown. At the time, I remember telling her that as soon as restrictions lifted, we would celebrate this important birthday by taking her out to her favorite restaurant, ordering her favorite gin and tonic cocktail and digging into a birthday…
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A Night That Changed Everything -Another Type of Covid Casualty
It is the oddest feeling as I prepare to pull out my carry-on bag from the recesses of my closet. It both feels like yesterday and ten years ago since I’ve opened it. It’s been 17 months to be exact. The last time I used it was when I was assisting my 89-year-old mother Ginny…
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The Strain of Covid – An Update Inside One Senior Community
As with so many of our elderly, my 90-year-old mother Ginny is entering her 11th month trying to live her life at a senior living facility in Florida while simultaneously facing the confines of a relentless pandemic. It’s been hard. She’s been in full lockdown, experienced some freedoms last fall as restrictions eased, and currently,…
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My Mother’s Post Lockdown – The Challenges Continue
It was mid-September when I sent a text checking in with my sister and she replied “We’re with mom at the hair salon and she says hi.” This is how I learned that restrictions had been relaxed for my 90-year-old mother Ginny who had been in lockdown inside her senior living residence for 186 days.…
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Life During Lockdown – My Mother’s Story
Like so many of us who have elderly parents living in senior residential facilities, my 89-year-old mother Ginny has been on lockdown since mid-March because of the Corona virus. This status has remained unchanged for an unprecedented 19 weeks. Since I have shared many of her stories here, I thought I would give an inside…
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Finding Joy in Your 80’s & 90’s 2.0
There are a couple of reasons why I’m re-posting this piece I shared last August (with a couple of additions.) First, this week would have been the Masters Golf Tournament. My mother will be sad to miss the beauty of the course this year with its flowering pink dogwood and magnolia trees and its beautiful…
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