Thought of the Week – Taking Care of Priority #1
Elder Care in Huntington, NY
With spring underway it’s easy to start thinking about all things outdoors; gardening in the fresh air, summer getaways, beach days, and long walks around the neighborhood. There’s an old saying that you cannot appreciate the sweet without the bitter and living in Long Island in the springtime is very sweet after those long bitter winters.
Time starts to pick up speed for most of us and once the spring holidays are over, everything and everyone seems to start buzzing along with those novel sounds of birds and insects outside. The juggling of family, work and household responsibilities that we are always doing gets even busier. And especially for my own family now that we have a new addition who is growing, as all babies and children do, at the speed of light, we are constantly racing against time to squeeze as much as we can into a day, a weekend, or a week.
Life may seem to get a little out of balance for some of us now. We are pulled in many directions and always dividing our time between work and play, especially those with caregiving responsibilities. When you have another human(s) who depends on you for most of their daily living activities, whether it be a child or an adult, your time is very limited and in high demand. And the most important part of that equation is keeping your own health and well-being in good condition because as caregivers, we are the engine in the machine.
Is it possible to do it all? To take care of yourself, your loved one(s), work, and household all in a day? I would answer that question with another question; how do you plan and prioritize your days? Does your own health come first?
Even if it’s just 15 minutes in the morning to stretch, to spend a few more minutes under the hot water in the shower, or to eat something healthy for breakfast, the little things you can do to take care of yourself at the beginning of the day will over the course of a week, a month, a year, make you a little healthier and stronger. Think about it as adding a penny or nickel into the piggy bank. Doing something small for yourself every day and at the start of your day means you took care of priority number one and can move on to all the other priorities that demand your time and attention for the rest of the day.
Jennifer has specialized training in Alzheimer’s disease through the Long Island Alzheimer’s Association and the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation.She also volunteered her time with the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Center of Long Island for 3 years by providing cognitive stimulation to an Alzheimer’s patient group.
Jennifer educates the community about elder care and speaks to caregiver support groups, senior centers, and at professional organizations.Topics include home safety, effective strategies for family caregiving, elder care planning, and awareness about elder abuse.
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