How will you handle the 2020 holidays? For years we have spent holidays with my mom’s side of the family. On Thanksgiving, the pasta course comes before the turkey. Christmas Eve is the feast of the seven fishes and Easter is a family egg hunt, even if the youngest cousins are now in college. This is my Italian side, so the conversations are fast paced, loud and filled with … [Read more...]
Should I Change Mom’s Medicare Part D Plan?
Between October 15 and December 17, we have the opportunity with Medicare Open Enrollment to change Medicare health care coverage and prescription drug plans. Anyone on a Medicare plan should have received the Annual Notice of Changes (ANOC) outlining any changes in coverage, costs, or service area. Note any 2022 changes to your health coverage or any Extra … [Read more...]
Tips To Help Your Elder De-Clutter, Downsize and Move On
How Can You Help Seniors Through the Process? We age. We accumulate stuff. We attach emotional value to everything from our dining room table to the solar system project little Billy completed in first grade. On any given day one might ask ‘what do I do with it all?’ ‘How do I get out from under it?’ As painful as it might seem to part with treasures, the strain many … [Read more...]
Caregivers, Do You Worry About Things That Have Not Happened Yet?
It's called anticipatory anxiety. The first time I heard the term ‘anticipatory anxiety’, I was listening to Nat Berman, CEO of Uncoached on Jeff Baietto’s podcast InJoy Success episode 65. He was talking about cold calling, something he hated. As he explained, the anticipation of making the calls was worse than the reality of cold calling. The term caught my attention. I … [Read more...]
What does it take for family or friends to be a good care partner?
Is a care partner different from a caregiver? I think they can be. Recently, I was chatting with a friend about caregiving. She is in remission from cancer and I wanted to understand more about what she experienced as a person receiving the care. When she used the term ‘care partner’, I asked her what that meant to her. “Care partner is the term my medical team used to describe … [Read more...]