\u2014 Julie Darling is the chef and owner of Just Call Us Catering, a boutique catering company in San Diego. She also owns and operates Just Call Us Kitchen Rental, an incubator-kitchen facility that provides entrepreneurs with a choice of 2 health-department-approved production spaces where they can launch their food-related businesses. She also runs the nonprofit, Just Call Us Volunteers.<\/i><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0Editorial:\u00a0Make these holidays count<\/h3>\n
By Anette Asher<\/p>\n
The holidays are great for family gatherings and these gatherings are more important than you know for our aging elders.<\/p>\n
Alzheimer\u2019s and other forms of memory loss can get passed off as, \u201cOh, he\u2019s just a little forgetful,\u201d to \u201cShe great! Her heart is good and she gardens constantly\u201d or worse, \u201cWe had no idea there was a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time of year may be your best chance to see changes in your elder relatives.<\/p>\n
Here is a story from one of our Glenner Memory Care Center family members, called, \u201cremembering last Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
All the family converged at my sister\u2019s house in San Diego for the holidays. My 80-year-old parents drove in from the desert.<\/p>\n
We were having a great weekend with doing puzzles and playing games. That was when we realized Dad might have dementia. Within an hour of sitting down to play Yahtzee, we realized my Dad couldn\u2019t quite add the dice or remember the next step. So he excused himself to go watch TV. I checked on him and it seemed like he wasn\u2019t watching TV just looking at it. Oh well, he’s probably tired. Twenty minutes later, I lost the Yahtzee game and we all lost Dad. He couldn\u2019t be found anywhere. We searched the house, ran down the streets, knocked on neighbors’ doors. No sign of him.<\/p>\n
With eight people in the house how could you lose a family member?\u00a0 What happened? Or better yet, what didn\u2019t happen? None of us were prepared to see the signs of memory loss and the dangers that go with it. Dad was found four blocks away talking with some kids on their bikes. Thank goodness one of the kids was trying to fix the chain on his bike and grandpa offered to help. If they hadn’t stopped to chat, the outcome could have been worse.<\/p>\n
That is the day we woke up to more than just Christmas. We learned the signs and vulnerabilities of dementia. It\u2019s nothing to ignore, it\u2019s everything to find help and learn of the journey ahead and the resources available to avoid any tragic event.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s another family member\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
I work from home while parenting two college kids. Since I live within 20 minutes from Grandpa, I offered to check in on him during the weekdays. He served in World War II and the Korean War. He\u2019s a strong and independent man who’s widowed now and just needs a little extra help getting to grocery store and doctor appointments.<\/p>\n
My aunt says he seems a little forgetful. No problem, who isn\u2019t? I’m always losing my keys and cell phone.<\/p>\n
Then one day Grandpa took his car to get gas. Ten hours later, he still wasn\u2019t back home. After this heart stopping experience, I knew to take his memory loss very seriously.<\/p>\n
No matter how ornery and in denial our elder is, there is a way to manage, coach and guide the whole family through this unchartered journey.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a process and it\u2019s a family issue, and there\u2019s a lot of free and affordable help right here locally with the Glenner Memory Care Centers, Southern Caregiver Resources Center and ElderHelp. Just don\u2019t wait for a crisis. Grandpa is safe and happy going to the Glenner Centers three days a week for his classes where he helps out his fellow veterans.<\/p>\n
What is the lesson in both of these stories?<\/p>\n
Use the upcoming holiday time to gather the family and pay attention to your elders. Know the signs and be prepared to address it. Avoidance and denial only makes things worse; especially for your loved one\u2019s safety and wellbeing, since there are healthy interventions and safe actions you can take today that will improve their wellbeing as well as the family\u2019s.<\/p>\n
That is why family gatherings during the holidays are more important than you know. Make your time with your elders count this year.<\/p>\n
The Glenner Memory Care Centers is a 33-year-old nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. We provide adult day programs for individuals struggling with memory loss, like Alzheimer\u2019s. We work with the family members to address care planning and health issues, activities, and guidance in this new journey of dementia. We offer 17 support group meetings each month. \u00a0They\u2019re free and so is the day care for the time to attend the meetings. You are not alone. Come spend the day with us!<\/p>\n
\u2014Anette Asher is the CEO of Glenner Memory Care Centers, with three locations including Chula Vista, Encinitas and Hillcrest. For services and resources call today 619-543-4700 or visit Glenner.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n By Katherine Austin<\/p>\n Banish the battle of baking, entertaining, gift-giving, and getting-it-all-done with San Diego\u2019s secret stress-relieving (and anti-aging) workout regimen.<\/p>\n Have you started baking? Buying? Wrapping?<\/p>\n The holiday season is upon us, with all its expected stresses, but that doesn\u2019t mean you have to succumb to the pressures. You can get ahead of the stress curve by building in little pockets of steadiness with breathing techniques, yoga postures and meditations, requiring no more than a few minutes throughout the day.<\/p>\n The holidays can bring out old family patterns, bitter quarrels and resentments over who does too much (and who doesn\u2019t do enough). Research from the American Psychological Association shows that balancing your holiday obligations with personal time devoted to quick restorative practices can eliminate anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n Try these simple self-care techniques and see how protect your sanity.<\/p>\n A Mayo Clinic study reveals that any form of exercise \u2014 anything from a 7-mile run to three minutes of calming yoga poses or deep breathing \u2014 can relieve stress. Endorphins are generated by a walk in nature, an impromptu hike, or a few minutes in meditation. Any physical activity helps you release the stress and worries of all your obligations, clearing your mind and resetting it with optimism rather than panic. Don\u2019t fall into the trap of not having enough time for yourself this holiday season.<\/p>\n Spinal flex: Sit in a comfortable position in a chair or on the floor, hands on thighs or shins. Inhale, draw chest forward, exhale, round the spine. Do this with eyes closed for three minutes.<\/p>\n Left nostril breathing: The benefits of left nostril breathing are numerous, including\u00a0sharper, clearer focus of the mind, and a deep, full relaxation or sleep.\u00a0Yogi Bhajan taught that if a person\u00a0breathes through the left nostril for 31 minutes a day for 90 days, they will naturally change their metabolism\u00a0in favor of relaxation and weight loss. Try doing three minutes a day to start.<\/p>\n Meditation for stress relief and clearing past emotions (this balances hemispheres of the brain): Fingertips touch, palms apart in front of heart, gaze down tip of nose, inhale five seconds, hold for five seconds, exhale five seconds and repeat for\u00a0three to 11 minutes.<\/p>\n \u2014Katherine Austin owns Karma Yoga San Diego at 1901 Fourth Ave. in the Bankers Hill neighborhood. Learn more at <\/i>karma-yoga.net<\/i><\/a> or 619-269-1769.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nEditorial: Eliminating holiday stress before it arrives<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"viralctnweb\"](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/viralctnweb.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"