Making cards to send to our dear friends, those ladies in our retirement community in various stages of cognitive decline, is a great way to stay connected.  We use a “thinking of you” theme to send a cheerful message.

The cards we make offer a variety of designs…from those we color to those we create by combining different textures and shapes or by using computer-generated clip art.

Each card represents a way to show that we care.  We’re told that the dear friends who receive our cards continue to look at them for days after we send them and that the impression of feeling valued by someone stays with them longer than we would imagine.  We’ve done this for years and the result is always the same…the recipient feels appreciated and loved.

It’s worth your time and effort to help your friends and loved ones in various stages of decline be encouraged with a card.

Receiving a “thinking of you” card can increase a person’s feelings of self-esteem and self-worth.  It lets them know someone wants to connect in a personal way.  Those in various stages of cognitive decline tend to feel isolated and alone.  Cards such as the ones the Lady-Links send to their dear friends can help promote feelings of being valued and connected.  We love to stay “linked” to our dear friends….that’s why we’re called Lady-Links…and our card connection helps us do just that.

How did the Lady-Links manage to get to the point where love and laughter flow so freely at visits with their dear friends, those ladies in various stages of cognitive decline who live in our retirement community?

Although our Lady-Links have a natural tendency to show kindness, compassion, and joy in whatever they are doing with their dear friends, there is a process for refining such skills so that those in cognitive decline will feel welcomed and loved during these friendship visits.  That process takes time and dedication as does anything that is worth doing.  And certainly the lives of our dear friends are to be valued and honored in every way possible. Learning the process to achieve a desired outcome (in whatever you want to do) helps ensure success.

I had the opportunity to think about the value of  processes recently when “Peach Season” brought with it the annual trek to farmers markets, roadside stands and orchards that so many of us make.  Having found the “perfect” freestone peach, I began the process of preparing those to eat immediately and those I wanted to freeze.  I had to set aside time to review the process for “putting up peaches” and make preparations to do things right if I wanted peaches to eat throughout the year.  It was a process with many steps.

Step 1 – Washing

Step  – Making the Syrup

Step 3 – Peeling the Peaches

First immerse in boiling water for 45 seconds, then place in an ice bath for several minutes.  The skins should (notice I said “should”) come off easily.

Step 4 – Prevent Browning (I used lemon juice.)

Step 5 – Add the syrup solution and package in freezer bags.

This should result in “fresh” peaches that will provide a deliciousness throughout the year if the process works.  And it should….plenty of time, energy, and effort were spent in learning what to do and how to do it.

How much more valuable are people than peaches?  There’s no comparison to their value.  The comparison comes in when we think of the process of what it takes to ensure a desired outcome.  We have a training process that prepares ladies to become Lady-Links who bring love and laughter into the lives of their dear friends.  The process is time consuming but so worth the effort.  Our training includes both educational and inspirational sessions that introduce us to:

• Understanding Cognitive Decline – from Mild Cognitive Impairment to the various types of Dementia (including Alzheimer’s)
• Best Practices for Communicating with those in Cognitive Decline
• Modification of Games and Activities to Promote Successful Interaction with those in Cognitive Decline
• Ways to Encourage those in Cognitive Decline to Feel Valued and Appreciated.

This has been our process for training our new Lady-Links since 2013 and it works.  Our dear friends interact with us and remain engaged at each of our visits.  This helps them stay actively connected to their world around them, even after the visit ends.  We think our Lady-Links training is a “peach of a process” with wonderful results.

 

Whether it’s working with Peaches or People….when you find the right process and apply it, you’ll have “peachy” (wonderful) results.

Try it….you’ll like it.

 

The Lady-Links always enjoy celebrating the Fourth of July with our dear friends, those ladies in our community in various stages of cognitive decline.  Making crafts, singing patriotic songs, and telling stories of how we celebrated with picnics, sparklers and fireworks when we were children are part of our yearly routine that never gets old.

Happy Fourth of July from your Lady-Links friends!

S

Sunsets are incredibly beautiful, yet no two are ever exactly the same.  What we see in a sunset on any given evening depends on how the atmosphere refracts the sun’s rays along with the type and arrangement of clouds that reflect this light to the ground.

What that means is that each sunset is unique….the circumstances are never the same to produce an exact replica of what we’ve seen before.  That’s how our visits to our dear friends are…those ladies in our community in various stages of cognitive decline.  Their circumstances are similar, but each dear friend’s level of cognition requires a visit that is tailored to her specific situation.  The Lady-Links consider the uniqueness of each dear friend as something that makes her special…that’s what makes her an individual…that’s what makes her the person she is, able to enjoy the activities that she specifically likes.  Visits to all of our dear friends are awesome…but no two are the same.

Some dear friends enjoy music at their visits.

Some dear friends enjoy making crafts at their visits.

Some dear friends enjoy playing cards at their visits.

Some dear friends enjoy playing games at their visits.

Some dear friends enjoy creating cards at their visits.

Some dear friends enjoy looking at things (Show and Tell) at their visits.

But all enjoy the love and laughter that makes each visit an occasion of joy.

All visits are inspiring, awesome, enjoyable, and special.  Just like a sunset…unique, yet similar to others.

If you have a friend or loved one with cognitive decline, we hope that each sunset you see will remind you of the opportunities you have to bring joy in unique ways into that person’s life.

Sun and Sunglasses!  Yes, Summer has arrived, and the Lady-Links celebrated the arrival of summer by making a cute “sun with sunglasses” craft for our dear friends.  These were packaged with an appropriate label…a sun with sunglasses, of course….and delivered with lots of laughter about how to prepare for the hot days ahead! We laugh because there’s no real way to prepare for Texas heat!  Take a look at some pictures taken last summer when the Lady-Links got together outside with masks and with social distancing to make a summer craft to send to our dear friends.  (We weren’t allowed to meet inside due to COVID regulations).  Remember those days?

Thankfully, we are past the COVID restrictions, and could meet inside this year with plenty of air conditioning to prepare and package the craft.

Prior to COVID, the Lady-Links found many opportunities in the past to visit with our dear friends while making summertime crafts. Celebrating the seasons, even a hot one, is something we always do.

So…put on those sunglasses and sunscreen, and step outside (for a few minutes) and be inspired to be the “sunshine” in the life of your friend or loved one in cognitive decline.  Have a conversation about what everyone did when we were kids to keep cool in the summer heat.  You’ll stir up some memories in each of your lives which can lead to a great time of sharing.  Just be sure to do your sharing in the air conditioning!!!!

 

 

Most of our time as Lady-Links is spent visiting our dear friends, those ladies in our community in some type of cognitive decline, engaging them in activities that they enjoy.  However, there is much that goes on behind the scenes to make our efforts successful.  Part of that is in the type of crafts we choose if we are doing a craft visit with our dear friends.  We opt for the peel and stick variety rather than those that require glue.  However, there are times when a bottle of glue comes in handy!  A case in point was with crafts that were mistakenly ordered.  Rather than let these cute “bug” patriotic crafts go unused, some of the Lady-Links got together to assemble them and to have fun in the process!

After all the work in applying glue to each piece was done, we were thankful that long ago we made the decision to use the self-adhesive foam peel and stick pieces for the crafts we do at our visits!!!

Other craft repairs include affixing magnets, re-attaching pieces, and packaging our crafts to send to our dear friends in our continuing care residence.

The Lady-Links are willing to do whatever it takes to bring love and laughter into the lives our our dear friends…. and in this case it took a little elbow grease and some glue!!!  Thanks Lady-Links!

 

The Lady-Links know how to have fun!  We met on two separate occasions to make paper flowers to send to our dear friends, those ladies in our community in various stages of cognitive decline.  We had a great time together as we always do, plus we knew that the results of our efforts would be a creation that would delight our dear friends.

Our community is blessed with an active group of artists who generously give of their time in teaching various art classes to residents. One of these artists has taken a special interest in our work with our dear friends and has helped us with several projects including this one…teaching us to make paper flowers from used computer paper that was destined for the recycle bin and/or from grocery bags. We are so thankful for her talent and creative ability but, most of all, for her compassion for our mission of bringing love and laughter into the lives of our dear friends.

As detailed as this project was, we knew how to add plenty of laughter making it a very special event.

It took almost two hours to complete these flowers, but we each managed to create a masterpiece among all the pieces of paper!

Each flower is different, although the instructions were the same! Realizing that, we can make a connection to what we see as we visit our dear friends.   We value the friendship of each dear friend and know that although cognitive decline has much the same pattern, it can affect each one differently.  As Lady-Links we take the time to get to know each dear friend and find ways to relate specifically to her that she finds meaningful and enjoyable.

A bouquet of paper flowers, each with its own design, makes a beautiful arrangement…especially when it’s made and sent with love.

Red, White and Blue!  Those colors represent our country, and what better way to inspire an appreciation of our history than to spend time together making patriotic crafts?

We are approaching several important patriotic holidays and observances, so the crafts that we make at our visits will reflect that theme.

Naturally, as we’re making these crafts, memories were shared about events in history that were meaningful to us.  We talked about Colonial Williamsburg and how it actually is a living-history museum, helping us to understand life during the founding of our country.  We talked about Mount Vernon, home of George Washington.

We shared stories of visits to Washington, DC  and the important monuments, buildings and museums there.  As we approach Memorial Day, we are reminded of those who gave their lives for our country so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.

We are blessed to be living in our great country.  Making patriotic crafts is an enjoyable way to engage in conversation about our nation’s history and what that means to us today.

The crafts that we make will be sent to our dear friends in our continuing care residence, helping to inspire them to share their own special patriotic memories.  God Bless America.

What were your school lunches like when you were a child?  My mother must have really loved tuna fish because that was her main choice for a sandwich when she packed my lunch.

For most of my classmates, a sandwich of peanut butter and jelly was the favorite.  So…..as you read this….what memories of your childhood school lunches are coming to your mind? Here’s some of mine:

• Having a Roy Rogers lunchbox.  Before that, I had a brown paper sack.
• Separate tables…one for the girls and one for the boys.
• Occasionally going through the cafeteria line to buy a plate lunch.  I loved fish sticks!  Remember those?
• Having 7 cents to buy milk every day…My parents insisted that I had milk at every meal, even at school.
• When we finished lunch, we could go outside and play.  My girlfriends and I brought jacks to play with on the smooth concrete porch near the cafeteria.

The value of talking about our childhood experiences when we visit our dear friends, those ladies in our community with some type of cognitive decline, is that they can usually remember things that happened years ago.  Short term memories are the first to go…but long term memories can often be accessed with some prompting.  It’s said that “The first in is the last to go.”  What that means is that our early memories are often the last to leave us when we have cognitive issues.

School lunches can be a starting point for memories of other experiences of our years in primary or elementary school.  Most of our dear friends can relate to something that is said and will join the conversation.  Here are some ideas:

• Learning to Read …My school used the Dick and Jane series.  Remember Spot?
• Playing on the Playground…I loved to climb on the monkey bars.
• Art Classes ….We did finger painting and made paper mache objects. Such fun!
• Paper Drives…We brought newspapers from home that were tied in bundles with string.
• Valentine’s Day Parties…We gave valentines to each of our classmates and ate heart-shaped sugar cookies.
• Talent Shows…My girlfriends and I sang “Be Kind to Your Web-footed Friends.”  That is a silly song, but we thought we were really “cool.”
• Transportation…My friends and I walked together to school.

The object of any of this is to engage our dear friends in conversation.  Most of our dear friends will contribute a memory of their own after we share ours in a concise way.  As the cognitive issues became more severe, some of our dear friends weren’t able to share a memory but they were able to smile or laugh appropriately when we shared ours.  They were engaged, even at that.  Whether actively engaged or passively engaged, conversation can stimulate brain function and helps our dear friends keep connected to those around them.

 

Sharing and Caring.  It’s what the Lady-Links do.

The Lady-Links look for ways to interact with our dear friends, those ladies in our retirement community in various stages of cognitive decline.  We’ve found that playing Uno is a great way to enjoy a visit together, plus there are benefits as well.

There’s something special about playing a card game in our adult years that we used to play as a child.  It brings back wonderful memories, many of which involve a favorite grandparent spending time with us, teaching us to play games like Uno, Go Fish, Old Maid or Canasta.  Such positive emotional stimulation affects our attitude, and the effects can last even after the card game has ended.

Uno, as well as other card games, can stimulate the brain helping with cognitive function.  Uno keeps the mind active, boosts concentration, and promotes hand-eye coordination and tactile stimulation.  In addition, Uno improves recall of numbers and colors, direction of play, and rules.

When playing Uno with our dear friend, we occasionally give “prompts” that will help her play successfully.  We only give “help” when needed.  We maintain the rules of the game, but at the same time, we slow the pace of the game and give verbal directions such as when a card is played that requires a reversal of the direction of play.

Skills of shuffling and dealing the cards will decline as cognition worsens, but there’s still many benefits to being part of a group that can engage in an enjoyable game of Uno.  The fun, social interaction is what’s important, and Uno provides all that and more!