It’s been a little more than a year ago that Judy was matched with a volunteer named Carol. Judy’s husband John is her primary caregiver. He wanted a volunteer to help Judy one day a week while he ran errands.
The match has been a happy one for the three of them. “Judy's quick wit keeps me in stitches! She is such a special person,” said Carol. “John is devoted to Judy, and is always finding new resources and shared many resources with me over the past year--marvelous!”
For the past year, Carol has kept a memory book for their visits and writes a short entry at the end of each visit. Over the time they’ve spent together, Carol has complied quite a list of great activities and wants to share them with other volunteers.
Caregiver Activities
- Playing cards (Old Maid) using half the deck.
- Singing hymns, especially seasonal/holiday.
- Going for a short walk and grabbing coffee.
- Coloring.
- Exercising to an exercise video
- Cooking together especially these favorites: chocolate pie (chocolate pudding and cream cheese, no bake), making homemade brownies from scratch, four-bean salad.
- Reading a little at a time until the book is finished. Here are some of the recommended ones:
- Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton
- Marley and Me (about a bad dog!) by John Grogan and then watching the movie Marley and Me
- Green Winter (poems about aging gracefully) Grandma
- Gatewood's Walk (about the first woman to walk the Appalachian Trail in the 1950's)
- Help, Lord! I'm Having a Senior Moment (coping with changes we all go through as we age)
- Watching 1950's-era TV comedy clips on YouTube (The Honeymooners, Abbott and Costello, Sid Caesar, Ernie Kovacs, Burns and Allen, Lucille Ball, Jerry Lewis, The Three Stooges, and Barney Fife, then Carol Burnett.
Please share some of your favorite activities in the comment section below.