Home For The Holidays: Heirloom Stories Are A Perfect Gift
by Linda LaPointe
Selecting the right gift for a special someone is sometimes joyous, sometimes a chore. Give a gift that’s free. A gift that no one else could give. A gift of your legacy!
Consider giving to or requesting a very personal, one-of-a-kind gift this year: heirloom stories. A perfect gift for an adult child who has everything. A perfect gift to request from aging parents who don’t know what to give.
A daughter knew that the quilt protected in her mother’s cedar chest was her great grandmother’s. But until her mother recorded the story of the quilt she did not know how dear it really was. The quilt was a wedding present received the day before her newly married great grandparents climbed onto a covered wagon in Pennsylvania to begin their journey westward to Colorado and a new life. Protected and hand carried across the U.S. the quilt bumped for a thousand miles along the Santa Fe Trail with a wagon train. That quilt is now much more cherished.
People forget that they live in their homes with history all around them. Old tools, equipment and machinery have a history all their own. A woman’s gloves, hat or shoes describe an era never to be seen again. Most of the stories go untold, leaving generations without the knowledge of an item’s uniqueness, history or sentimental value. History lessons and family stories can be integrated, enjoyed & remembered by any age recipient.
Personal belongings and family heirlooms have so much to say. Have yours told their stories yet? They will be welcome and engaging gifts. Here are some ideas to help you tell those heirloom stories:
- Tell them to someone who will act as your scribe.
- Write them down in longhand or on a typewriter or computer.
- Record them on a tape recorder in your own voice.
- Have someone videotape you while you hold an item and tell its story or demonstrate its use.
Even a person with Alzheimer’s Disease can often share the stories that others may think are lost. If she can still speak, put an item in her hand, and it may remind her of events or uses, people or places. Ask her questions, and you may get more history than you expected.
Start now to preserve those stories, histories and ways. Give or request a loving legacy for any season or occasion.
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About The Author
Linda LaPointe, MRA is an ElderLife Matters coach and author of several products to assist families experiencing aging including the pamphlet, Don’t Be a Burden: 100 Tips. Get free articles and information at www.SOSpueblo.com.
sospueblo@yahoo.com
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Simplify the Season
by Megan Corwin
Let's take a look at a typical Christmas To-Do list: bake cookies, buy and make gifts, attend office party, church commitments, address and mail cards, clean the house for guests, decorate...it goes on and on....
The holidays are meant to be a time of joy and family celebration. But all the running around we do can zap the fun. Here are some ideas to simplify the season.
Gift Giving:
Purchase a family gift rather than gifts for individuals.
For extended families, draw a member's name out of a hat and give only one gift. Limit the present amount.
Make soup, beverage or cookie mixes. Package in a pretty jar or container with instructions attached.
Have family members create a wishlist on amazon.com so there 
Simplify the Season
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Home For The Holidays: Start That Conversation
by Linda LaPointe
Annie waited too long to have that talk with her parents. It was too late to have it now as they were both beyond comprehending the seriousness of their situation. As a result, she had to break the bad news to a long lost brother, and deal with her resistant parents who had convinced themselves that they were independent in their own home, while she had to make some very difficult decisions for them.
It’s never too soon to begin the discussion of aging. But if you have put it off, ease into that conversation as soon as the first, what may seem minor event occurs which indicate a loved one’s independence may be in jeopardy. Since it is difficult to begin such a talk, here are some suggestions which may help:
use another family’s Home For The Holidays: Start That Conversation
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Snowboarding Isn’t Just For Kids Anymore
by Lauren Traub Teton
Pain and injury avoidance techniques for snowboarding are invaluable but not well known. If you know how, you can avoid the two biggest mistakes that first time snowboarders make. A positive experience your first few times out will make you more likely to stick out the hard times until you learn enough to really have fun!
“There’s no reason that adults shouldn’t snowboard and have as much fun as kids” says self-proclaimed Snowboard Evangelist Lauren Traub Teton who admits to being “in her 40s”. “I have been riding a snowboard for four years, and am having the most fun of my life!”
She feels that the only thing stopping “oldsters” (in their mid-30s and up) from embracing snowboarding in a big way are the inevitable hard falls experien Snowboarding Isn’t Just For Kids Anymore
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Resolve to Improve Your Finances in 2004
by James H. Dimmitt
Kick off 2004 with these 7 money resolutions and get a fresh financial start to the new year. At year’s end, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ve reduced your debt load and the money you’ve saved!
1) I will create and use a budget.
A budget helps you see exactly where your money is going from week to week and month to month. Creating and using a budget, no matter what your income level, will help you reach your financial goals more easily than without one.
2) I will use my budget to help reduce my credit card debts.
Let’s say you are able to save $20 a month by budgeting your money. You could take that $20 and place it in a savings account where you would earn minimal interest. Or you could use that same $20 and add it Resolve to Improve Your Finances in 2004
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