Comments on: The Untold Stories of the Elderly – What Can You Do?

By: Transition Aging Parents: Everything Adult Children Wanted to Know About Their Aging Parents But Were Afraid to Ask | Gilbert Guide

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:19:11 +0000

[...] Parent) to the social and emotional needs of elders, with a discussion on how profound an impact a conversation with elderly people can have in our lives, to information on medical issues affecting the elderly, such as a [...]

By: Anita Jesse

Anita Jesse — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:38:24 +0000

What a touching and inspiring story. I found you through your comment on Paul Lester’s site and this post provided such a lovely beginning to my day. Thank you.

By: Dale

Dale — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:11:51 +0000

I’m inspired by all the passion and love I read in these comments. Thank you all for the taking the time to comment!

By: Michelle Seitzer

Michelle Seitzer — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:06:56 +0000

Fantastic post, Dale – and I completely agree with Dale’s and Eleanor’s comments as well. That was the part I loved most about my work in assisted living/retirement communities…hearing the stories of the residents. I wrote down as much as I could but it was really difficult to capture them all!

Within the last year and a half, as my grandfather declined rapidly from Alzheimer’s (he passed away this January), I made a committment to call my Grandma every day to see how they were doing. After he passed, I told my grandmother that I would continue to call her every day, and I’ve done that. Recently, I’ve asked her to share stories about her life, about Grandpa, about her childhood – whatever she wanted to share with me. It’s been a great thing for both of us! Preserving family history and passing it on is so important.

Thanks so much for your post! Congrats on the new site too.

By: Dale Susan Edmonds, M.Div.

Dale Susan Edmonds, M.Div. — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:12:36 +0000

Thanks Dale. So often we think of elderly people being some “other” form of being. We walk past to take of of the mundane things of every day life…. and miss the rich treasures and history that they can share with us. Whether it’s a neighbor, older relative, or our own parents, you’re right. We’ve got to re-prioritize and have those wonderful conversations that could make the difference in what we know, understand or pass on to our kids. We can use birthday parties, family reunions, all kinds of occasions to capture those great stories.

http://www.talk-early-talk-often.com/family-legacy.html

By: Eleanor Feldman Barbera

Eleanor Feldman Barbera — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:44:39 +0000

Great post, Dale! I frequently encourage nursing home residents to write their life stories as an adjunct to our psychotherapy sessions, but have found that people need hands-on support and encouragement to do so, often to the point of taking dictation. This is a wonderful activity for volunteers to do with residents. It’s a way of addressing Erickson’s psychosocial life stage of “generativity versus stagnation” and transforming the nursing home phase into one of giving to the next generation.

Eleanor Feldman Barbera, PhD
http://mybetternursinghome.blogspot.com