I hear so many people pondering over what to give to their older loved ones for the holidays. I\u2019ve even had my children ask me what I want for Christmas and was at a loss. There is nothing I need; and most things I might want I usually get myself. When my son called recently and asked me what I would like for Christmas, I told him we should plan to go out for a movie night after the holidays are over. That is when I realized that what I want most from my family and close friends, not just at the holidays but all year long, is to spend time with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We live in a society where materialism and commercialism have taken over the holiday season. The average American spends $700.00 at Christmas. It seems that the real meaning of Christmas has been replaced by things, resulting in mounting debt. And every parent can likely remember spending time and money to find the \u201ctoy of the year\u201d for a child, only to have the toy forgotten by mid-January. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Dr. Seuss\u2019s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, we see a sad, lonely, Christmas-hating guy try to squelch the joy of the people of Whoville by stealing all their Christmas gifts and decorations, thinking it will ruin the holiday for them. What he finds, instead, is summed up in this passage: \u201cAnd the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling, and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons, it came without tags, it came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled \u2018til his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn\u2019t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn\u2019t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Often our elderly friends, neighbors, and relatives become more isolated as they age due to physical and mobility changes. Just losing the ability to drive can cause one to feel like a prisoner in their own home. I am met with this reality regularly when I do home visits. My clients love the social aspect of our visits, often asking about the weather, my family, or how many people were walking dogs in their neighborhood. Imagine how much they would love having regular visits from people they don\u2019t get to see too often! Imagine how much it would improve their mood and quality of life! Of course, people who have jobs have limited time. But all of us also have limited time on earth. And I have never attended a funeral or memorial service where anyone said they regretted spending TOO MUCH time with someone. I have, however, heard the opposite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make a promise to yourself this holiday season to spend your time with no regrets and make it a gift to others. Perhaps, like the Grinch, you will feel your heart grow three sizes by living the real meaning of the holiday season and giving the gift of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just my two cents, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Penny <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I hear so many people pondering over what to give to their older loved ones for the holidays. I\u2019ve even had my children ask me what I want for Christmas and was at a loss. There is nothing I need; and most things I might want I usually get myself. When my son called recently and asked me what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[146,75,62,147,32,5,72],"class_list":{"0":"post-329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-other","7":"tag-christmas","8":"tag-care-manager","9":"tag-healthy-aging","10":"tag-holidays","11":"tag-independent-care-manager","12":"tag-medical-intervention","13":"tag-senior-citizens","14":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n