The Upside of Empty Nesting
When the kids are finally launched into the world, parents face a mix of emotions. There’s the sadness over missing the family being together, and there’s the relief of enjoying the calm and opportunity to experience life again as just a couple or an individual.
The Upside of Empty Nesting
When the kids are finally launched into the world, parents face a mix of emotions. There’s the sadness over missing the family being together, and there’s the relief of enjoying the calm and opportunity to experience life again as just a couple or an individual.
Technologies for Ageing in Place
Motion sensors or a robotic medical exam may save your life someday. Today’s upsurge in remote health-monitoring technology is redefining the landscape of “ageing in place,” the decision to continue living in one’s home of choice as independently and safely as possible. Canadian RBC reports that 83 percent of elderly want to stay in their own homes as they age.
Sounds You’ll Never Hear Again
Time rolls on and takes with it certain sounds of each generation. For those in America’s pioneer days, common sounds included covered wagons rolling over the terrain. Fast forward a few decades and Model A cars projected familiar tones. For today’s baby boomers and older seniors, time has faded a number of everyday noises and tones.
Right at Home invites you down an auditory lane to the commonplace sounds of growing up in America before the 1980s. Here are a few nostalgic intonations from yesteryear that may be music to the ears:
- Typewriters — Long before mobile devices and wireless keyboards, many a newspaper journalist, secretary, war correspondent and office worker clacked away at typewriter keys. Don’t forget the zip of the carriage or the rip of the paper from the roller.
- Rotary-dial telephones — With today’s touchscreen phones and Siri and Cortana dialing for you, may you not forget the whirl and spin of the desktop rotary phone and the twisting of those curled-tight cords.
- Cash registers — Buying penny candy at the drug store or malts at the drive-in restaurant always elicited a cha-ching and slide-close drawer unlike today’s self-check lanes with blip-beep barcode scanners.
- Hand-crank pencil sharpeners — Electronic pencil sharpeners speed things up but cannot replace the exercise of turning the handle on an old-school No. 2 pencil sharpener (a great stall tactic by students who insisted their pencil was too dull to take a test).
- Diamond needles on vinyl records — Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, the Supremes and Ella Fitzgerald thank you for the countless hours listening to them via 33 LP (long play), 45 (single) and 78 rpm vinyl records before iTunes® was only a twinkle in Steve Jobs’s eye.
Considering all of the modern, take-anywhere conveniences of smartphones, computer tablets, digital surfing and earbuds, perhaps the greatest sound of days gone by is simply this: silence.
What sounds do you miss from your growing-up days?
An award-winning journalist who has documented stories in nearly 20 countries, Beth Lueders is an author, writer and speaker who frequently reports on diverse topics, including aging and health issues for both U.S. and international corporations.
Seasonal Weather Travel Tips
Come rain or shine, or hail or snow, older adults are learning the keys to travelling in seasonal weather
When Elder’s Needs Are Changing
Father sometimes leaves the garage door up all night with his keys in the car. Mother stays in the same outfit for days and limits her bathing. At first, these behaviors seemed a bit out of the ordinary, but now you are beginning to wonder if something is shifting in your older loved ones’ health and daily care needs.
When Elder’s Needs Are Changing
Father sometimes leaves the garage door up all night with his keys in the car. Mother stays in the same outfit for days and limits her bathing. At first, these behaviors seemed a bit out of the ordinary, but now you are beginning to wonder if something is shifting in your older loved ones’ health and daily care needs.
Getting Along With Family after a Parent Dies
What happened to those blissful family reunions brimming with laughter or listening to your brother’s quirky stories during the holidays? The loss of one or both parents can complicate everything from settling wills to simply talking on the phone. Sometimes the death of a parent reveals relationship tension that can widen into frustration, blame, distancing or rage.
Identity Theft and Your Older Loved One
The film Catch Me if You Can chronicles the crime exploits of world-traveling conman Frank Abagnale, who posed as an airline pilot and doctor among other false identities. For the past 40 years, Abagnale has worked with America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation as an advisor for fraud detection and prevention. Abagnale warns, “You should know, whether you live in the U.S. or in the U.K., that your identity has already been stolen.” That is sobering news no matter where you live.
Tracing the Family History
Perhaps you are curious about your family history and where you came from, or you want to record the paths of your ancestors as a preservation gift to your own children and grandchildren. Whatever your interest and motivation for completing your family tree, you now have easy-access tools to help you such as Internet sites, how-to books and community family research centers. In genealogy endeavors, one of the best resources is your elderly relatives.
5 Steps to an Affordable Retirement
As your retirement approaches, you’ll likely face hurdles of how to afford your lifestyle — or something close to it — on a limited, reduced income.
5 Ways Dance Can Improve Your Life
Many people like to dance because it is their passion. Others want to dance because they want to improve their life and want to feel happier and healthier. Here are 5 ways dance and the associated aerobic exercise can help improve your life.
Risk Assessments for Older Adults
The majority of older adults want to stay in their home as they age, but sometimes health conditions and the condition of the home itself are barriers.
The Caring Canine
With over ten years of experience as a Personal Support Worker and the right heart for our unique Right at Home culture, Jasmine has proven to be an outstanding addition to our London team. Since graduating from Medix Career College in 2004, Jasmine, who is GPA certified (Gentle Persuasive Approaches in Dementia Care), has cared for individuals living with Dementia and Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease.
How to Prevent and Detect Strokes
In the next six seconds, someone in the world will have a stroke. Are you among those at highest risk?
12 Days of Christmas
The holidays bring peace and joy among family and friends, but they also bring that unwanted stress of finding the perfect gift for your loved one.
Disaster Preparedness for Seniors
No matter where we live, natural disasters, and even the man-made ones like the Lac-Mégantic derailment, typically strike quickly and without warning. No one is immune from the effects of disasters, particularly the elderly.
Home Modifications Keep Seniors Safe and Improve Quality of Life
The floors are too slick, and the stairs are too many. Most homes in Canada are not designed to accommodate the needs of people age 65 and older. The home that many of today’s seniors bought at a young age was not built with an older person’s needs in mind. The bedrooms are upstairs and the door openings are too small for a wheelchair. Outside, the sidewalks are buckled and the manual garage door is nearly impossible to lift.