Budget Cuts Hurt Seniors – Senior Day at the Capitol

Like so many other states, Georgia has made many budget cuts that affect seniors.  If you live outside of Georgia, and you care for an elderly person who depends on state funds, you may want to check and see how those cuts will affect your family.

The following information is from a flyer that I received from the Cobb Senior Day Center that my sister Gladys attends.  The program director asked me to share this information on A Caregiver’s Journal.  If you live in the metro Atlanta area, you might want to make an effort to attend this event or contact your legislator.

Be There 4 Seniors

Eliminating vital supports that keep older adults active and healthy costs Georgia more money.  Limiting support for family caregivers overburdens families who then turn to the State for care.  When informal caregiving is not supported, Georgia’s burden increases through:

• Lost productivity in the workplace
• Increased demands on Medicaid
• Increased demands on long-term care systems

Senior Day @ the Capitol
Wednesday, February 25
9 AM – 2 PM
(Bus will board at 9 AM, Lunch on your own)

Free transportation provided for participants of Cobb Senior Services’ programs.  Reservations on 1st Come, 1st Served basis.  Call 770-528-1447 for reservations and information.

Georgia Council on Aging encourages seniors, adult children and caregivers of senior services to contact your State Representative and State Senator to voice your concerns about budget cuts that will affect programs and services for the 55+ population.

To find your legislator in Georgia, log onto:  www.sos.georgia.gov/elections/polllocator/PollLocator.aspx.  Click your district and the Senator’s name will pop up.  Click on District # and look up your representative.

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Follow-up to Show Some Valentine Love to Caregivers

Last week I wrote a post, Show Some Valentine Love to Caregivers.  Today I want to share my efforts to do just that. I chose two sisters, Jocelyn and Stephanie.

Jocelyn is a member of my church.  She has a young teenage son who was born with a spinal birth defect; he is confined to a wheel chair.  For the past seven or eight years, I have watched Jocelyn and her sister Stephanie take care of Landon.  I’ve watched them take him to children’s choir practice and other youth events at church.  They have been dedicated to having him function as a normal child while they are both active in several ministries.

In an effort to bring a some attention to caregiving, I asked for permission to do a 5 minute presentation during our 10:45 AM church service on Sunday morning.

• First I asked how many family caregivers we had in the congregation (about seven people raised their hands)
• Next I told people about my web site and the challenge that I had given about showing some love to family caregivers
• I explained that caregiving is stressful and demanding
• Then I said I wanted to celebrate two family caregivers, Stephanie and Jocelyn

Jocelyn and Stephanie were totally unaware that they would be celebrated and the acknowledgement was really a surprise because my relationship with them is very casual.  Pastor called it an Oprah moment because they started crying and then people in the congregation started crying.  Each of them received a gift bag with a Valentine bear, a box of chocolates and a gift certificate to the spa.  (At Costco you can purchase two $50 gift certificates for $80.)

I hope some of you have given some consideration to showing some love to family caregivers.  It is especially appreciated when it is unexpected.  As I mentioned before, most family caregivers would love the gift of time – just a few hours of time to themselves.

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Caregivers Need More Laughter

Caregivers need to laugh. Last week was pretty stressful and busy, but I found some very humorous moments thanks to current events.  I had a good laugh from the Etta James outburst about Beyonce Knowles. Then there was Andrew Card who forgot he is not the White House Chief of Staff anymore, chastising the new President and staff about their relaxed dress code.  The country is falling apart and he’s concerned about White House attire.  Go figure.

Sometimes you have to find a way to relieve stress.  My way is to laugh at some everyday event or watch a mindless movie.  Rambo is a great mindless movie and it is funny to me.  You don’t have to think, there’s not much dialog and you know that Rambo will be the last man standing.  You can leave the room for 30 minutes and not miss anything important.

Elizabeth Scott wrote and article, The Stress Management and Health Benefits of Laughter.  Here are some of the things she wrote about laughter and stress:

How To Use Laughter:

Laughter is one of my all-time favorite stress management strategies because it’s free, convenient, and beneficial in so many ways. You can get more laughter in your life with the following strategies:

• T.V. and Movies: There’s no shortage of laughter opportunities from the entertainment, both at the theater and in the aisles of the video stores, as well as at home with T.V. comedies. While wasting your time watching something marginally funny may actually frustrate you, watching truly hilarious movies and shows is an easy way to get laughter into your life whenever you need it.
• Laugh With Friends: Going to a movie or comedy club with friends is a great way to get more laughter in your life. The contagious effects of laughter may mean you’ll laugh more than you otherwise would have during the show, plus you’ll have jokes to reference at later times. Having friends over for a party or game night is also a great setup for laughter and other good feelings.
• Find Humor In Your Life: Instead of complaining about life’s frustrations, try to laugh about them. If something is so frustrating or depressing it’s ridiculous, realize that you could ‘look back on it and laugh.’ Think of how it will sound as a story you could tell to your friends, and then see if you can laugh about it now. With this attitude, you may also find yourself being more lighthearted and silly, giving yourself and those around you more to laugh about. Approach life in a more mirthful way and you’ll find you’re less stressed about negative events, and you’ll achieve the health benefits of laughter.

Years ago I used to read Erma Bombeck because she found a lot of humor in every day life.  I think I’ll start reading her again.

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