.Father’s Day is the perfect opportunity to honor your dad and thank him for everything he has done for you. While big Father’s Day celebrations can be nice, some dads prefer to keep thing simple. If your dad is more the subdued type, or if a big celebration is just not in the cards this year, here are some simple ways to show you care.
1. Help Dad look his best. When was the last time your dad had his suit cleaned? Consider taking it to the dry cleaner for a nice refresh. The dry cleaner near me does a fabulous job of removing any stains, repairing buttons and pressing the suit. Find the best dry cleaner in your neighborhood and ask them to pickup your dad’s shirt and suit for cleaning. When your dad wears the cleaned suit, he will feel like he’s on top of the world. If you do have bigger plans for Father’s Day, such as going out to dinner at a nice restaurant, you can always have his suit dry cleaned in advance so he can wear it to the special event. 2. Make him a gift basket. Buy his favorite personal grooming products, some cologne, and maybe some sunscreen to prepare him for the summer. Don’t forget to also grab a greeting card and write a personalized message inside. If you procrastinated in gift shopping for your dad, you can do this last-minute at the nearby pharmacy. There are often many really nice products that you can put together in a gift basket for your dad. 3. Arrange for companion care. If your father is getting older and is struggling to care for himself, or perhaps feeling a bit lonely in the house, a nice Father’s Day gift may be to arrange for companion home care through a home care agency. A professional caregiver, such as a certified HHA, can visit, as needed, to help with basic tasks and also do fun activities like playing chess, viewing photos or taking a walk with your dad when you can’t be there. 4. Make him a mix tape. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, people used to make mix tapes for their loved ones. Bring this tradition back for Father’s Day! Create a CD with some of your dad’s favorite songs on it. You can include songs you’ve listened to together over the years and toss in a few surprises, too. As Father’s Day approaches, spend a little time to think about how you want to celebrate with your Dad. It’s perfectly okay not to go over-the-top. Often, it’s the small gestures, like those above, that mean the most to a dad. Be sure to also give your father a hug and remind him how much you care. It’s a new year! That, of course, doesn’t mean that the hardships and uncertainty of 2020 will disappear. However, we can make a conscious effort to declutter our minds by simplifying our lives. So, to maintain that “New Year, New You” mentality, here are some great tips that are easy to implement. Take Care of Your HealthIf the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need to focus on our health and the health of our loved ones. This doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can be as easy as starting to take a multi-vitamin every day, if you don’t already. Talk to your doctor about any nutritional supplements that might be beneficial for your specific health concerns. Your local pharmacy should carry everything you need. And you may even be able to get a nutritional consultation from your pharmacy as well. Don’t Stress About the Little ThingsWe all have daily chores that can get ahead of us if we let them. It’s silly to stress about things like housework and laundry. If clothes are piling up, and it’s just adding too much stress to your life, consider hiring a laundry service. Having someone pick up your dirty laundry, wash, dry and fold them and deliver them back to you can be quite a lifesaver. There’s no reason to feel guilty about spending money on something like that if it’s within your budget. Checking things off your list that add to your stress is a good thing. Make an Effort to Improve the Lives of OthersThere’s no better way to improve your own life than by improving the life of someone you love. This past year has probably been especially tough on your elderly loved ones and neighbors. Be sure to check in on them often. Even if they have a home health aide or caregiver, they may be missing that personal contact from their loved ones. Nothing can replace a phone call from someone you love. This goes for friends with little ones at home too. Parents have played both caregiver and teacher roles for the last year, and it can be incredibly stressful. Just ordering a meal or sending over a gift basket to a mom or dad in your life would be an incredible gesture.
Doing these simple things can lead to a new you in this coming year! We usually celebrate Mother’s Day with flowers and gifts for mom, taking her out to dinner and may be a shopping spree or a trip to the spa or salon. While our city is still in lockdown, with restaurants, salons and shops closed, how are you celebrating Mother’s Day? Mother's Day GiftsFor the most part, we can order gifts online and get them ready by Mother’s Day. If you cannot get a gift delivered in time, don’t forget that your local drugstore is still open and carries a variety of health and beauty products that your mom would love – from age-defying skin care, hair coloring and styling to perfumes and manicure products. Your community pharmacy may provide curbside service so you can stay safe. Take a load offMom is always busy caring for her family. The list of household chores is never ending. During the quarantine, the amount of cleaning and disinfecting has probably quadrupled. So a great gift would be to take over some of her work. How about letting the local dry cleaner nearby do the laundry? Schedule a laundry pickup before Mother’s Day, so that she is relaxed and not worried about doing the laundry. If mom’s work includes caring for grandpa and or grandma, which is not unusual in this age of the “Caregiving Crunch,” you can take a load off her by hiring respite care providers from the local home care agency. A home health aide can provide respectful professional care and companionship for a senior loved one while the family caregiver takes a break. Fun activity togetherDo something fun with your mom at home, such as watch a movie on TV, take a trip down memory lane by viewing old photos together, make handicrafts or artwork, give mom a manicure, and so on. Mother's Day dinnerIf your mother is living in the same house, you can perhaps cook a nice dinner or if you are not a good cook, you can order a big meal online and get it delivered to the house. But if your mother is not under the same roof, you can try sharing a virtual dinner on Zoom. That way, you can still see and chat with each other during dinner.
With a little creativity and preparation, we can still give mom a memorable Mother’s Day during these unprecedented times. Stay safe and have fun with your mom on Mother’s Day! Photo by Karolina Bobek ✌ on Unsplash Newton has the fifth largest senior population in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and older people are known to be at higher risk from COVID-19. Although the city is working to make sure seniors are safe, you may be wondering if your parent or senior loved one who lives alone needs extra support during this pandemic. The best thing you can do is encourage them to stay home and practice social distancing to avoid exposure. Here are a few things to make staying home easier. Before you talk with your loved one about the need for COVID-19 precautions, get up to speed on facts and information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or from the state or local health department. This will help you be better able to correct any misinformation they may have. If there is a home health aide, some precautions are needed. Discuss with the home care agency what protocols they have in place to reduce risk. In addition to helping with activities of daily living, the home caregiver can help your loved one follow the CDC’s risk-reducing recommendations and also monitor for symptoms so they can alert you. To make sure they have enough of the daily essentials like food and medicine, you may want to stock a couple of weeks’ worth of groceries including food, pet supplies, cleaning supplies, etc. and to gather a one to three month supply of medications. Use a prescription pharmacy in Newton that provides prescription delivery service and/or curbside pickup to keep up with the medications. For groceries, remember to check the availability of time slots for delivery. Laundry pickup service can help avoid trips to the nearest dry cleaner in Newton or laundromat where social distancing is hard to maintain.
Check in frequently by phone, FaceTime, or Zoom to stay connected. Companionship and social relationships are important to the mental health of an aging adult. Social distancing makes it difficult for us to communicate effectively and intimately with our senior loved ones, but digital communications can help quite a bit during these unprecedented times. photo credit: Image by Sabine van Erp from Pixabay |
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