Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Review Your Year

For many years, I review the year on New Year’s Eve. On New Year’s Day, I set forth a map for the year.

It may seem silly to some to do this just because the calendar is changing from December 31 to January 1. After all, these are arbitrary dates in the stream of life. Yet, I have found this exercise to have miraculous benefits.

First, it lays the foundation for improving how I live my life when I invite family and friends to help.

This is what I’ve learned about myself and this is what I plan to change.
Will you help me stay on track?

Second, even though the New Year is only an arbitrary metric it gives us an opportunity to start anew as do the changing seasons. How many of us are inspired to clean in springtime?

Third, even though obstacles may derail our efforts to fulfill our expectations, they help us to improve our lives in we cannot anticipate. A parable illustrates with a lesson ignored by all except the poorest peasant of them all.

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around the obstacle. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king proclaiming that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

With every obstacle comes an opportunity to better our lives.

What about you?

What opportunities will you seek in the New Year?

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Saturday, December 28, 2013

Helping Your Aging Parents DeClutter

"Christmas lights. Do not work." Three boxes, so labeled and tucked in the basement ceiling joists, were perhaps my favorite find while clearing out my parents' house. Well, those or the shelf of neat notebooks recording weekly bowling scores back to the 1960s. A dozen casserole lids, no casseroles. Spare stereo knobs, circa 1975. Enough yarn to knit a sweater that could encase the entire house and yard, Christo-style.

I tossed plenty of useless stuff while clearing out my parents' home of 40-odd years, recently. (100 pairs of elastic-waist pants, anyone?) But I had it relatively easy, because my parents weren't involved. (My mom had died and my dad, who was relocating, was sidelined by dementia.)

Most caregivers face the "junk wars" with still-living relatives. It can happen when you combine households because of the recession. Or help a parent downsize into assisted living. Or just try to make a crowded old house safer for an older adult in which to age-in-place.

Sorting through the accumulated years can be exasperating. Even a nightmare, if the person is a packrat, under stress, or hopelessly sentimental. (Which doesn't leave too many people, I know.)

This week I read some great tips on the topic in a thread in Caring.com groups on whether people fantasized about getting rid of parents' stuff.

Here are some of the best, and a few others:

1. Start yesterday.

Just about everybody who's been through the ordeal – whether they have to "de-junk" in crisis mode or not – wishes they'd begun sooner.

Tip: Appeal to the person's sense of not wanting to be any "trouble": "Dad and Mom, it will be a heck of a lot more trouble for me to sort through all this after you're gone than to sit here and help you get a handle on it now."

2. Snap it, then dump it.

Great tip from Caring user Bobbi in Florida: Take pictures of beloved objects before disbursing them. "What is really important are the memories, not the stuff," she says she discovered. Your parent is apt to have more fun looking at albums (or downloaded images online) than dusting and digging. Likewise, you can scan old documents.

Tip: Perfect summer job for an unemployed teen.

3. Box it and "forget" it.

For stuff you're pretty sure you're not going to want to see again – but the resistant person insists is important – try some elegant boxing. Get official, sturdy moving boxes, carefully label contents, and relocate the clutter to a basement or storage unit. Nine times out of 10, it's never asked about or seen again. But the person feels reassured that it's safe.

Tip: For items worth leaving out, write the significance (where it came from, family meaning, etc.) on a piece of paper stuck to its bottom. Your own children may appreciate this tiny extra step.

4. Develop some questions to sort by.

The specific questions depend on the situation, but you can make a game of it. Samples: When was the last time you wore it? (More than two years and it's out.) Does it work? (If it doesn't function, forget it.) Is this a sentimental thing for you or a memory you want to pass on to somebody else? Is there anybody who could use this more than you right now (a young family starting out, a charity)?

Tip: Focus on potential gains (less to clean, safer floors, money, helping someone else) rather than losses.

5. Distinguish saving from collecting or hoarding.

It might all look like junk to you, but understanding the person's motivation can guide the psychology you use on them. People reared during the Depression tend to save stuff because they "might need it someday." (That would explain my Dad's broken Christmas lights.)

Collectors might be persuaded to cash in on their collection(s) in this economic climate. Or work with them to plan ahead to divide a collection among, say, grandchildren as Christmas gifts.

Hoarders are often ill. Often you can surreptitiously cart off some of their stuff with less much fuss. Learn how to spot a hoarder.

6. Cope with it as an alternative to "American Idol."

Try easing a willing parent into a downsizing spirit by suggesting you spend an evening a week, or an hour every evening, having "Sort Time."

Tip:Start nonthreatentingly small: a corner, a box of paper paraphernalia or photos, a bookcase.

I love how one Caring user put it: "I've learned stuff I would never otherwise have learned and for my Mom it is a trip down memory lane, on the one hand, and a chance to say goodbye and move on with the next life chapter, on the other."

7. Enlist professional help.

Especially if it's a crisis or you're out of town, consider finding a senior move manager. These experts know not only what to do with all that stuff but, more importantly, empathetic ways to get someone to willingly part with it.

8. Think twice about grabbing it for yourself.

Your own kids will thank you someday.



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Friday, December 27, 2013

Medicare and the ACA

Medicare and the ACA


Amid the ongoing rollout of the federal and state health insurance exchanges, it is important for seniors and caregivers alike to understand how Medicare fits with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

It is an important time to understand the changes to the Medicare plans, now that open enrollment has ended, and you continue to help your loved ones make critical health decisions. Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the largest customer-owned health insurer in the United States, would like to help you understand the implications of the ACA on seniors, and the added benefits seniors can expect to receive.

Since Medicare is not a part of the Health Insurance Marketplace established by the ACA and Open Enrollment for Medicare coverage remains the same, seniors were not required to do anything different during enrollment. That said, the ACA provides many new benefits for seniors as it expands the Medicare coverage that they already have, including:

  • Additional preventative benefits available.
    Seniors can work closely with their doctor to set up a prevention plan that will include wellness visits and screenings for diabetes, certain cancers, mammograms, colonoscopies and more.
  • Improved primary care.
    Initiatives to ensure primary care providers are available to give seniors quality care. Doctors may receive additional resources or incentives to verify that treatment is consistent.
  • Savings on brand-name prescription drugs.
    Many seniors fall into the “doughnut hole” when they have prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D and fall into the coverage gap. The new law will provide a 50 percent discount on prescriptions during 2014 and begin to close the gap.

Still, as is common each year, insurance companies will update and revise their Medicare products, which can often lead to changes in the providers, products and services available for a given coverage level.

While the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for certain Medicare products ended December 7, seniors turning 65 can still review Medicare coverage options throughout 2014. By spending time in advance, seniors and their caregivers to can help to ensure they are utilizing all of the benefits that Medicare has to offer. Seniors should take time to consider what is important to them, such as additional services that include wellness visits and diabetes screening, how to make the most of their prescription coverage, and selecting the best doctor for their specific health needs.

We hope these services will help make it easier for you and your loved ones to find additional value in Medicare coverage and enable a healthy 2014. For more information, visit Medicare.gov.

HCSC_Company LogoHealth Care Service Corporation is the largest customer-owned health insurance company in the United States. HCSC offers a wide variety of health and life insurance products and related services, through its operating divisions and subsidiaries; including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, and through Dearborn National.

Dementia Signage for the Home












Weekly Planner (Bright Pink) Memo Pad

______________________________

Dementia Signage for the Home

Behavior Triggers Log (Sky Blue) Memo Note PadBathroom Door Sign-Temporary/Reusable Wall Skins




Checklist for Brushing Teeth Wall DecalDaily Pain Journal (Sky Blue) Memo Notepad





EZ-C Bright Green 3 Ring Binder binders