hello darlings!
I keep starting posts and then abandoning them because you know what? I made a commitment to get to bed by 10 pm! And I am accustomed to blogging late at night ( I post-date and time postings so they’ll pop up on the blog at all sorts of times).
It is now 10:50 and I am LATE FOR BED.
I just wanted to say hello and ask you all are doing.
I purchased a treadmill from a guy on craigs list and it is installed in a guest bedroom in the parsonage, just waiting to help me achieve another self-care commitment to move my bod every day. The guy who sold it to me was a super-chatty, over-helpful type who gave me all sorts of unwanted advice on how often and how I need to work out. He was a character, for sure. But that’s what you get when you get a sweet deal on craig’s list! So now I am the proud owner of a Nordic Track 2500.
Sugar is OUT of my life.
White bread and pasta and white rice are also out.
I am eating small meals (more like snacks) throughout the day.
I feel good. I am working with a doctor and a nutritionist. Everyone’s body is different so please feel free to share your practices but know that I am not looking for advice or guidance, just support.
Today I was talking with someone who is struggling with memory loss. I offered to program her Garmin GPS for her so that she wouldn’t get lost driving home again. I also offered to program her cell phone so that she could enter important phone numbers and not have to remember them.
We also devised a plan where she would check her calendar at every meal to see what she had committed to do later in the day.
I thought, “Wow, working with these technologies like the GPS and the cell phone are so easy for me: I wonder if this would be a good program to offer at church?”
Have any of you offered such a thing? Like Life Skills for Seniors or something similar? I am also thinking about a topic like “Spiritual Management For Chronic Illness.” Please let me know if you have an outline or program ideas you might like to share.
Off to bed, chickadees. Sleep well.
Just don’t call it “for Seniors” — I hate that term the older I get (69 in Nov.) — it is so dismissive and why not offer it for all who are tech-challenged?
I believe that different ways of eating works for different people. Full disclosure- I am not overweight, and I have never been. I’m coming from a standpoint of how I feel. I’ve found that I feel worse when I eat more restaurant and processed foods and I feel much better when I can eat food I cook myself and fresh fruits and vegetables. I completely understand being pressed for time; I work full time and I have an almost 4 year old. Cooking at home is important to us, and I normally have an hour between when I get home with my son and when my husband comes home. In that hour I usually can get something made (taking into account lots of interruptions!) One key to being able to do this is to plan meals weekly and base our shopping list on that. I don’t have the dilemma of “what shall we have for dinner?” because I can just pick something from the menu. 🙂
I’m a chaplain in a long term care facility let me tell you there is nothing. If you have cancer there is tons of stuff, if you are aging with multiple diagnosis there is nothing. You are largely deserted by the church you have served you’re whole life, feel abandoned by God and your body, and most of your day is spent focused on your blood pressure, your bowel movements and your fluid intake. Don’t get me started!
PB- what a great idea for a program! I’ve done individual sessions with parishioners as well, and I’ve helped do Advance Directives for a group, but what a genius idea to do it for a whole group! I like the idea of not limiting it, though- there’s probably some immigrants out there who’d love to learn to get their electronics working right away. No matter how tech savvy you are in your own country, it’s easy to be overwhelmed when the nice computer is entirely in another language.
I disagree and agree with Lynda, though- in Southbury, CT, the Lutheran home had several fabulous programs for the residents, and the chaplain was extremely active in organizing the local clergy to come do services. I think the quality of spiritual connections depends largely on the strength and coordination of the spiritual care department, as well as on the home parishes (I burned out on all the nursing home visits I had to do and started a social visiting ministry for just that purpose). But there are resources out there.
Check Lutheran Homes for a good jumping off point.
I do agree, don’t get me started, though- there are so many reasons why people feel abandoned, and not all of them are due to actual abandonment.
B there are minimum five services a week at the home I work at. And I have managed to build a little ‘congregation’ of some residents. But ours is city/county secular home, the Mennonite home in town has a church attached to the home. But in my five years here, I have heard many sad stories about how no one comes to visit. Given that the average stay before death is 18 months – so we are talking about the last months and days – the point at which many of these people have held onto their faith waiting for it is tragic in many ways.
I wish my church had some kind of program to support caregivers. [We had a wonderful support group of people who were gathered by the minister (I think it was actually me!). We started off with a program that I led (wow, that was so long ago I don’t quite remember what I did) and then they became a self-supporting group. They disbanded after a time as their roles changed due to death, transitions into nursing homes, etc., but I think it’s time to start one up again. Thanks for the reminder and good luck with encouraging your own church to start one. – PB]
Re: changes in diet and exercise, I never really cared much about the number on the scale, but the number after I had my cholesterol tested was sobering. My doctor told me bluntly, “If you can’t control this through diet and exercise, you’ll be on cholesterol-lowering medication for the rest of your life. I don’t want to do that, as young as you are.” (I was 33.)
Caring for myself gave me motivation to adopt a healthier diet in a way that fashion or external ideals about body shape never had. I did lose, and have kept off, nearly 20 pounds by exercising regularly and eating virtually no animal fats, and my cholesterol is much, much lower. I eat olive oil, avacado, etc. but avoid milkfat, butter, red meat, and the like.
Your dietary needs will vary, of course! But best of luck and much support as you embrace a healthier style of living. May your body and spirit reap the benefits.
Peacebang – you go girl! I am so happy for you and your efforts to care for yourself.
I keep plugging away on self-care – lots of good intentions but little follow through. The joblessness of waiting for first call is a hinderence to both caring for my mental health and physical health.
BTW – did anyone see the news article about the chips available to be inserted in the shoes of those suffering with memory loss? It has a locator in it, so if the wearer becomes confused and lost, it is easy to find them and get them home. The idea is that placing it in the shoe is superior to having a device the person wears – putting on shoes is a long term engrained memory, less likely for the person to forget than a device recently added to the wardrobe.
It doesn’t sound like your friend is ready for such a thing, but what a wonderful use of technology to keep those in the later stages of memory loss safe!
I’ve been doing the “no processed food, no white flour, etc” thing for just a couple of weeks and I’m surprised at how much I LIKE it! Roasted vegetables, and raw fruits and brown rice. What’s not to like? So I hope you have fun with it, PB! I wish I lived closer, so we could meet for a bowl of basic vegetable soup for lunch.
PS> I think the devices workshop could be a real winner! I’d be happy if I could just get my folks to bookmark the church website.
Peacebang – good luck to you with your new commitments for your health. Sounds like you have a great plan and lots of support – you go girl!
I’ve been struggling with a 70 pound weight gain for the last 10 years (gulp!). I’ve had lots of great intentions and have even lost some weight once (30 pounds) but then put it back on after a serious car accident. Sigh… this self-care thing is hard… especially when I would be SO supportive to others but find it hard to take time out for myself. But I’m working on it – little by little, every day, and have awesome support. So I am lucky 🙂
Thanks for all you do with this blog about reminding us that we also “embody” our ministry in many different ways – not just in what we say or do.
Keep up the good work PB!
On the topic of care for older people, I agree that this is an area that church (and our whole society) falls down on. I’m currently working on some training resources for aged care staff so I’ve been made aware of some of the issues in this area.
A good resources I’ve found for people with dementia is http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/Shop/BeingwithGod/114458.id
In New Zealand we also have various ‘caring caller’ or visiting services, but there are not enough volunteers to go around. Maybe as Churches we should be calling people to follow both OT and NT instructions and support our elders. I wonder how many Christians have older relatives that they don’t visit?
Churches in our area work together to provide visiting and communion services to the three local rest homes. We also have employed someone (very part time)to run a once a week daytime session for older people. So that’s something…
Blessings,
EJ
I’m in my mid fifties but I have noticed that at many churches the older people have what amounts to a support group of their own, being together, etc. I am not sure if the priest did anything with this though.
I’m not a minister, but I have a lot of interest in fashion and textiles (textile artist), so I work with the local weavers/spinners guild as their web lady (I’m 38 and the average age of members is probably 65 or 70). There is such an incredible wealth of knowledge and awesomeness of really smart persons, and they just don’t know how to make those first steps on their own when it comes to technology. Next month the workshop I’m teaching is “Basic Web Skills for Textile Fanatics” 🙂
I feel like technology has such a great potential – take the weaving community, there’s a large number of people in that set, but we’re spread out over a really large area. With the Internet, we can be big and sharing, but if we stay local only, well, that knowledge and experience is starting to die off.
Most of this is volunteered time; I sit on the Board and do the web admin, although honestly, I feel almost selfish about the wonderful contacts and opportunities this arrangement has brought me. I’m happy that I have a great skill from those years as a programmer that I can share and contribute.
So, there are people in other fields who are thinking these thoughts too!
P.S. Thank you for your ministry, Rev. PeaceBang!
I am late to reading this post, but wanted to leave a comment of thanks for you helping someone with memory loss. I know my Mom, with dementia, could not use the devices you mention, so it is different for each person and where they are in their level of dementia. It is possible that if she had learned the skills earlier she might have been able to use the technology for a while though.
I am struck by how you took the time to help this person at her level of ability. Sadly, people with memory loss are some of the most forgotten people in our society, in my opinion. I am struggling with thinking of ways in which we can make people with dementia more welcome and comfortable in our churches.
One thing I am very passionate about is multigenerational interaction. It is essential for children & youth to know how to interact with people with dementia. Also, people with a bit more advanced dementia identify and may feel more comfortable with children since as their dementia worsens, they have more of the attributes of a child. My son is a great help to my Mom, because often he understands her better than I do.
Anyway, thank you for your ministry!