The Best Mother's Day Gift May Be...

By: Ann Burnside Love

Since my four children’s father died while they were still very young, over the years they’ve found some special ways to celebrate Mother’s Day, ranging from seriously thoughtful to downright funny and beyond.

One of my best ever Mother’s Day gifts happened several years ago, when one son made it my gift to plant all the annual flowers I had just bought when I had a big yard and suddenly could no longer do all the gardening myself. For the last few years it has become a tradition. So now he visits me at my retirement community toting a huge bag of potting soil, trailed by one of my beloved teenage grandsons toting tools. They plant new flowers on my balcony in my favorite containers — and refresh my indoor plants. (I do everything I can to prevent Vanessa the cat from munching on the greenery, but …)

Adult Child? You Can Help!

By Ann Burnside Love

Are you, by any chance, the adult child or child-in-law, niece, nephew, sister, brother, cousin or very good friend of a senior who would benefit from a different living situation?

May I suggest that the recent holidays could have given you an opportunity to look closer at how your senior relatives or friends are doing in important ways, such as:

• eating nutritious meals, or having access to appropriate food?

• getting enough exercise?

• living in physically safe surroundings indoors and out?

• receiving sufficient and quick medical attention?

• living in an unhappy or limiting situation?

• needing more assistance in daily living — or would benefit from a simpler and less demanding lifestyle where they have fewer responsibilities and more choices in how they spend their time?

Or, from a less dramatic point of view, do you think that person is in good shape generally — and could benefit from being around people with similar interests, abilities, and tastes — plus diverse life experiences to share? Studies show that these are among the best benefits of senior retirement communities.