Care Partners

How to Improve Your Elder’s Life With This Radical Idea

Elders caring for others is a radical idea. I know, because I had difficulty researching the topic. No matter what words I put in the search engine, it took me to ways to care for elders. Elders contributing, caring, volunteering and giving is unheard of. Let’s change that. Elders already care for others in many […]

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Finding Ways for Your Elder to Give

I killed my tomato plant. I’m a decent gardener and puttering in my garden brings me great joy. I don’t often kill plants. When I saw my tomato plant withering, I took it personally. The plant had come home from the garden centre looking healthy and already growing a few tomatoes. I planted it in

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The Answer May Be In A Glass of Water

Are you feeling thirsty? Do you realize that as soon as you are aware of thirst, dehydration begins, and you need to hydrate immediately? This is true for all of us, but elders are often more reluctant to drink and their frail bodies are more subject to dehydration. Because of this, hydration is crucial for

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How to Plan for Healthy Meals for Your Elder

Megan decided she needed to start with a list. She invited her dad over to dinner one night, and after he’d enjoyed a hearty barbecue, she told him what she proposed. “I have some ideas of what you like, but some things may have changed, and I don’t know what to do about vegetables. Then

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Dealing with Behaviours: When All You Want Is Sleep

Edith woke with a start.  The children needed her. She had to get them dressed for school, and make sure Jeremy washed his face and brushed his teeth after breakfast. Alice didn’t usually need reminding, but Jeremy tried to sneak out without cleaning up. She needed to make their lunches, and after they left, she

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Dealing with Behaviours: A Trip to New Brunswick, a Journey Down the Hall and a Fat Man.#wandering

Jean looked out her kitchen window to see her mother striding down the sidewalk. Although her mom had dementia, she remained physically strong and she was making tracks. She dropped her dish towel and raced out the door. “Mom!” she called. “Where are you going?” “To New Brunswick.” Her mother had grown up in that

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How to deal with a stolen purse

Gloria flounced into the dining room and announced loudly, “Someone stole my purse!”  Like a tightening belt, the agitation among the others in the room increased. We had a thief among us? Was anyone’s belongings safe? Gloria’s care partner assured her she would help look, and they went arm in arm down to her room.

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7 Positive Ways for Elders to Attain A Connection

When my dad was in university taking his pharmacy degree, he took an elective in art. I remember years later finding a folder with pencil and charcoal drawings from that time. Astounded, I discovered he had remarkable talent. Talent he never once pursued in all the years of building a business and raising a family.

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How to Find Variety in Community For Your Elder

“No.” All her life, Maggie had been in the middle of everything. A little raucous and “off the wall,” irreverent and fun, full of life. But life had almost drained from her, and as a widow, blind and in a wheelchair, she didn’t bubble as she used to. She barely simmered most days.  So when

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How Loneliness and Isolation Are Toxic for Elders

We sat on our swing on the deck. At mid-afternoon it looked like dusk. Our solar lights sprung to life and an eerie stillness descended. We wore our special glasses and watched with awe as the eclipse of 2024 slipped across the sky.  As awed as I was by the whole event, something else struck

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