Tag: elderly

Grandparents Day

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Grandparents Day is September 10th! Here are some ideas of how to celebrate and make it a “storyful” day. (Think of the acronym T.E.L.L.) 

  1. Take time to be together. This may look like reading a picture book together or it may look like talking over cups of coffee or chatting over the phone. A truth is time is one gift none of us can ever get back or get more of and so when we share it with someone, we are, in a sense, sharing one of our most valuable treasures.
  2. Enjoy something yummy together. What’s your favorite treat? Chocolate chip cookies? Ice cream? Whatever it is, enjoy it together. The smells and tastes of our favorite foods are often connected to sweet memories that make for great stories. 
  3. Look back at the past together. Grandparents are a living connection to history, a real gift to grandchildren. Why not look back over family photo albums, visit a local historical site, or watch a history-focused show together? However you do it, ask questions, share stories and listen. Sometimes grandparents are shy of talking about the past. We obviously don’t need to know or share everything and can let some topics stay silent. But an encouragement for grandparents is that their stories may be just what a grandchild needs to be inspired and connected. Many of us these days need new connections, not only to people but also to hope. And stories from previous generations about overcoming struggles, seeing how life’s pieces came together and learning lessons may be the best way to give those connections. 
  4. Laugh together. It’s been said that “A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22, NIV), so in your “storyful” day silly stories and jokes are welcome! 

May you have a blessed and “storyful” day!

P.S. What if you don’t have grandparents with whom to celebrate? Well, like Andrew in My Own Grandpa by Leone Castell Anderson you may find an older person who needs a “grandchild”, too.

For a few recommended children’s books about life with the elderly, see this post. 

Photo credit: Adobe Stock. 

Children’s Books about Life with the Elderly

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Sometimes it’s fun to explore a theme through different books. A while ago, I composed my thoughts on a selection of children’s books that have the theme of “Life with the Elderly”. Whether a grandparent is moving in or there are elderly people in the community, children will cross paths with someone who is “a little bit older”. While this can be a great blessing all around, sometimes children don’t know or feel unsure of how to relate to the elderly. I can empathize because I struggled with this even when I wasn’t so young. Perhaps these books could give someone else a lift in the right direction!

Grandma’s Attic series by Arleta Richardson

Here is a collection of stories to inspire children to seek out tales from those who are a little bit older. With each chapter, venture into a new story passed down to Arleta Richardson by her grandmother Mabel. Be prepared to laugh and learn along the way as Mabel and her best friend Sarah Jane grow up in Michigan over a hundred years ago. Parents will also discover good talking points about the issues Mabel encounters.

I first read these stories when I was about nine years old and later read many of them to a girl I babysat for years. We both loved them! The tales are not only laugh-aloud funny but also truly priceless thanks to the distinctively Christian way in which Grandmother Mabel shares them. (The older editions of this book have larger print. If that is a concern, you can still find them on ebay or Amazon.) 

The Cul-da-sac Kids and the Great TV Turnoff by Beverly Lewis

In this book from the Cul-da-sac Kids series, Eric comes up with a big idea: Maybe the Cul-da-sac Kids should join National TY-Turnoff Week! But when everyone decides to join in, going without TV turns out to be a lot harder than Eric thought. 

Thankfully, his Grandpa, who lives with Eric and his mom, comes to the rescue. Eric’s family also reaches out to the elderly man who lives at the end of the street…with surprising results! 

This chapter book is engaging for young readers and models healthy relationships with older family and community members. And, let’s admit, a little inspiration to go without TV could be a good thing for all of us!

My Own Grandpa by Leone Castell Anderson

Little Andrew has two problems: He is lonely, and he wishes for a nearby Grandpa who could do special things with him. Then his mother takes him to Green Meadows Manor. There Andrew meets people who are all just a little bit older, including Mr. William Barker. You can guess this story’s happy ending.

Although it is not explicitly Christian, I like this Little Golden Book for several reasons. First of all, the story illustrates how children need older people in their lives and vice versa. Then it shows children how to act around the elderly (e.g. Andrew tries to start a conversation and shakes Mr. Barker’s hand when they meet). However, it also recognizes that older people may appear scary to children at first. Lastly, My Own Grandpa demonstrates creative problem solving as Andrew’s mother takes her lonely little boy to meet other lonely people and finds a man who could be like his own Grandpa. 

The Boxcar Children #4 Mystery Ranch & The Boxcar Children #54 Hurricane Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

In The Boxcar Children #4 Mystery Ranch, Jesse and Violet head west to care for their Great-Aunt Jane whose health is dwindling and whose contrary nature is driving her housekeeper crazy. At first, Aunt Jane is unfriendly and uncooperative, but Jesse and Violet’s resourcefulness and kindness yield eventually happy results. As in all Boxcar Children adventures, a mystery develops and soon Henry and Benny join the girls at Mystery Ranch to help solve the case! 

The Hurricane Mystery (#54 in The Boxcar Children series) finds Henry, Jesse, Violet and Benny on Sullivans Island off the coast of South Carolina. They are there to help an elderly friend of Grandfather Alden’s, Mrs. Ashleigh, repair her home after a hurricane. But what is so special about the gate in front of Mrs. Ashleigh’s house? Could there be some connection to the stories of pirates’ buried treasure? With another hurricane on its way, will the four children be able to solve the mystery in time and will Mrs. Ashleigh be able to keep her home?

While the Boxcar Children’s adventures are not explicitly Christian, these two do reflect an active care both in and beyond one’s own family for those who are just a little bit older. In Mystery Ranch readers can see one picture of what it might be like caring for an (at first) less-than-cooperative elderly person. Mrs. Ashleigh in The Hurricane Mystery is a contrast to Great-Aunt Jane (the grumpy Great-Aunt Jane, that is) because Mrs. Ashleigh herself is very active and engaged in her community, but she still needs help after her home is damaged and the Aldens’ active compassion for her is worthy of imitation. The book also deals with an issue many elderly people face: Mrs. Ashleigh’s son wants her to move out of her home while she doesn’t want to at all! (After seeing how supported she is by her community, her son apologizes and decides she can stay in her own home.) The mystery elements keep the story going. I recommend these two as books that you can talk about with children.

Grandma’s Moving In! by Stephanie M. Cone

This picture book is a delightful tool for showing young children how they can be a blessing in many little ways to their grandparents and other older people. It is especially helpful for families who are in the midst of a grandparent moving in. The Christian perspective and sensitive spirit behind it make it a story worthy of a place on your bookshelf. 

There you go! Why not visit the library or the Kindle store, and settle in with a favorite little one to share these stories together?

 

Your turn! What resources do you use to teach children how to act around the older people in their lives? Or, if you are “a little bit older”, are there things you wish children knew that could help you all get along better?

A Spoonful of Stories

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Does what you read really make a difference in your life?

I have been blessed to have in my life a special older lady. Several years ago, it appeared that she often got wrapped up in worry or pulled down by discouragement. I also noticed something else: the books she read seemed like the kind that would make me downright paranoid and definitely grumpy. That realization inspired me to embark on a secret mission. I like to think of it as “Operation Spoonful of Stories” to help sweeten her later years and reach a cure for worry-itis and that pesky discouragement disease. 

Step 1 was to keep mental notes of books she liked. Mysteries and non-fiction decidedly won out. Even though she was entering the winter of life, she still liked books that she felt made her brain work and taught her something about the world.

Step 2 commenced with picking out my own set of books that fit the bill of what she might like but were higher up on the happy-and-hopeful scale. Philippians 4:8 seemed liked a good measuring gauge. Maybe she would like historical fiction that was well-researched (and perhaps included a mystery), biographical works of Christian men and women or novels that gave good insights into distant cultures?

Little by little, I moved into Step 3: loaning these books to this dear lady. She read voraciously, so sometimes it was hard to keep up with her. At times she liked a book quite well. Other times it didn’t seem to suit her fancy. During this phase, I discovered that a side benefit of Operation Spoonful of Stories was having something new to talk about during our visits.

All of this started a few years ago. For me, the high point came with her deciding to read the entire Bible. When I heard she was going for that goal, I loaned her a Bible guidebook that I thought she might find useful. (I admit, I had almost gotten rid of it several times over the years because I didn’t use it much.) She loved it! To my delight, she actually gave me and my family little reviews of what she was reading and learning from Scripture. 

Watching this friend read all those books was pretty amazing in itself, but I also got to see something even more amazing: gradually, the anxiety faded away, and the downcast spirit became one of the merriest souls I’ve known. Surely, this change is really due to God’s work in her heart, but I like to think it may have something to do with Him using a spoonful of (good) stories to put her on a healthy path as well. 

Now I call that a mission success.

What about you? Have you had your own “secret missions” to help someone overcome a hurdle or enjoy the sweeter side of life? Or have you been blessed by someone’s forethought? And, while we are at it, what books do you go to when you need a boost? I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories, so please comment away!

An Open Book

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Instead of calling him by his first name, they started calling him Dr. Hammer. They could talk to him about his life. The care they gave grew more attentive. They knew him as a person not just a patient. All because they knew his story.

When my sister and I compiled Grandpa’s life into a book with a self-publishing program and gave it to him for Christmas several years ago, we never envisioned it going where it could tell tales to anyone beyond our family and descendants. An audience of that size was worth the effort. But then Grandpa moved into a nursing home. 

Moving Grandpa to a nursing home was hard. Life doesn’t always bring about the ideal situations we would choose for ourselves, and this was one of those times. Mercifully, God still carries out His good work even in the challenging imperfections of this earth.

After a while of being at the nursing home, Grandpa asked for “his book”, the one we had crafted. We took a copy and left it on his shelf. Little by little, a marvelous thing happened.

One by one, we began hearing reports that the aides and nurses were reading Grandpa’s book. They would remark on “what a life” he had had. That’s when we started noticing the little changes like calling him Dr. Hammer once they realized that he had his Ph.D. in economics and had taught that subject at a university. They learned about his childhood and how he met Grandma in the Philippines and how their first date was a missionary meeting. Perhaps knowing about his Norwegian heritage and how he had served in the US Air Force gave them a little more understanding of his deep stubborn streak as well. In this way, Grandpa’s full life became an open book. We couldn’t sit and tell each nurse and aide these things, they didn’t always feel comfortable asking, and Grandpa couldn’t always put together the thoughts he wanted to share. But they were delighted to pick up the book when Grandpa told them to or when they were just sitting with him. It was such a blessing to us to see other people getting to know the Grandpa we had come to cherish. 

Beyond that, Grandpa’s book gave us an opportunity to introduce Someone even more precious: Jesus Christ. Sure, they heard us sing and saw us read the Bible and pray, but through this little book they saw how Christ is written into our lives. No, we didn’t get to see anyone become a Christian because of it, but maybe what they read planted or watered seeds. We have prayed for that. 

So, if you have a loved one who is a little bit older, I would encourage you to think creatively about how to share who that person is with family, friends and caregivers. Who knows what kind of harvest you might reap?