The holidays are a time when family and friends often come together. But for families living with Alzheimer's and other dementias, the holidays can be challenging. Take a deep breath. With some planning and adjusted expectations, your celebrations can still be happy, memorable occasions.
▪ Familiarize others with the situation ▪ Adjust expectations ▪ Involve the person with dementia ▪ Adapt gift giving
The holiday season is here. Coming up with gift ideas for grandparents or elderly parents can be a real headache for many people. Most grandparents have more stuff than they could possibly ever use.
There is nothing they need and very little they want. So, what do you give someone who has almost everything, and their house is already full of family photos, albums, personalized mugs, slippers and bath oils?
Here are some gift giving suggestions to get you started. Those gift ideas are perfect for any occasion.
Book of the Month: Living Without the One You Cannot Live Without—Hope and Healing after Loss
From the first, life-changing terminal diagnosis to a new way of life as a widow, the deeply moving journey of mourning a beloved spouse's death is the subject of Natasha Josefowitz's candid, uplifting collection of poems, "Living Without the One You Cannot Live Without." Drawing from her own personal experiences navigating the grief of this seemingly unbearable loss, the author's tender and thoughtful perspective is certain to offer hope and healing to anyone who is embarking on his or her own journey of grief and healing process, regardless of age and life stage. With rich insight and raw honesty, "Living Without the One You Cannot Live Without" guides the reader from mourning to recovery, using simple, relatable poetry that casts an unflinching eye on the day-to-day experiences entailed with losing a loved one. The collection starts with a diagnosis of cancer and travels through the moments experienced in doctors' offices, hospice care, the funeral, and on to the reality of a life alone. Examining the grief process chronologically, the poems progress from the painful early days to the second year, when healing has occurred. The book then culminates with a strong message of hope, as the grieving person emerges once again as a self-sufficient, confident person who is facing the next adventure life has to offer.
Nothing enhances health and well-being more than a life well-lived, at any stage of life. And octogenarian Natasha Josefowitz is proof of this.
The best-selling author and award-winning poet of 20 business and poetry books, Natasha’s articles and poems have been published in over a hundred journals and magazines including the Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, the London Times, and most major newspapers in the United States.
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