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here are top 10 ideas for last minute Father's Day gifts for an elderly

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dad who says, Oh, don't buy me anything.

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I've got everything I need.

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Stay tuned.

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There's a lot more in store.

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Hello everybody.

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It's Nancy May and welcome to another episode of Eldercare Success.

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This is a special one, because it's all about our dads.

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But before I get going on that top 10 list, one of the things I'm going

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to really recommend that you get.

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is the book, How to Survive 911 Medical Emergencies, a step by step

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guide before, during, and after.

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There's a lot of information in there that is easy to follow and easy to

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read, including a whole list of things that can help make your life easier as

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a caregiver, some of the things that you need to take care of mom and dad

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that you might not even know about.

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And yes, there are also a ton of tips to make sure that you have a better

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experience in the emergency room and the hospital and making sure that mom and

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dad get discharged faster, either to back home, a care facility or rehab facility.

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there's a lot that you don't know that you can have more control

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over on those situations and more.

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So please, I recommend you buy the five star rated book, How to Survive

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911 Medical Emergencies, a step by step guide before, during, and after.

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It's authored by moi.

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Yes, and a lot of work went into that specifically for you.

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And now let's get on with the show.

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Father's Day gifts for an elderly dad who really doesn't want anything or who

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really has everything can be difficult.

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I mean, honestly, who needs another sweater?

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Maybe another hat?

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I don't know, maybe a meal out?

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It's okay, but it's kind of boring, and I don't want to say thoughtless, but there's

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not a whole lot that goes into that.

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It's the same old, same old, year in, year out, what am I going to do?

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I'll get him another tie.

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Well, an elderly dad probably doesn't wear a tie too often.

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In any case, it's challenging to get something that's from the heart

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and that will be helpful to him.

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And maybe an aid that's taking care of him or taking care of mom too.

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That aid could be you.

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Like I said in last week's episode, it pays to be a little

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creative when out and about.

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And when you go that route, it can be lots of fun.

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So let me get into these top 10 ideas that are short notice, easy to pick up

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and easy to do, and I'm pretty sure are going to be well appreciated by dad.

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Idea Number One:.

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One challenge that elderly people have is getting overheated, especially

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when they're sleeping at night on those plastic cover mattresses.

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Now, okay, incontinence is an issue, which is why a lot of mattresses are

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covered with plastic, either in the hospital, well, it also makes things

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easier to clean up for them, even at home.

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if you have one of those plastic covers on, let's say, a traditional non

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hospital like mattress, you know, the cushy ones, like a Sealy or something

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else like that, just to make sure the mattress stays clean no matter

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what, accidents happen, that's okay.

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They can create a lot of warmth and heat against the body.

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There's no breathing of the fabric there and it's difficult

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and crunchy to sleep on.

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Being too warm is uncomfortable.

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Also being too cold is uncomfortable.

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but on the case of being too warm, I found something that's

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called a Chills Cooling Pad.

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The funny thing is, it was actually made for dogs.

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And I got one for my older dog, who's got a little bit of arthritis

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and is feeling the aches and pains.

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I can see that.

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But dad is not really man's best friend, aka a dog.

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But I know your dad is pretty special.

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The interesting thing is, I wasn't quite sure whether this cooling

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or chills pad would really work.

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So I tested it on my older dog.

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He seemed to be pretty comfortable on it.

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I took my shoes off, walked on it to see if it was really doing

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what it was supposed to be doing.

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Well, it felt okay.

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But then I tested it on my own bed to see what would happen.

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I laid down directly on it.

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It's a little chilly.

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But underneath the sheets, it's pretty comfortable.

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So, Dog Tested, Nancy Tested.

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If Dad gets overheated at night, I recommend finding Chills Cooling Pad.

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I'll put a link in the episode notes for that one.

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And just so you know, I got the big dog size.

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Not that Dad's a big dog, but, well, maybe he is.

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Socks.

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Now, number two is socks.

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socks sound pretty boring, but the jazzy, crazy, wild, fabulous kind of ski socks

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that are out there, those can be fun.

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They're a little bit more difficult to find in the summertime,

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This time is June, right?

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But they can be crazy and wild and easy to find online.

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I used to pick those crazy kind of socks up at Dick's Sports anytime I saw them.

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Dad loved them and they were fun.

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They kept his feet warm with neuropathy, but the rest of his body stayed

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cool and comfortable as he wanted.

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When his favorite aides, Millie, Iris, and Addie helped him put

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those on in the morning, he would say, Oh boy, oh boy, va va va voom!

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Ha ha ha ha!

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I know those socks reminded him of the time that he used to ski in college.

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Wood skis, believe it or not.

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And also the time that he shared when his college buddies actually took

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him up to the top of a ski slope and pushed him down one of those ski jumps.

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He had never been on anything like that before.

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Well, thankfully he made it down in one piece because dad was

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here with me to 99 and 47 days.

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Gotta love that.

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Speaking of socks, if you can't find the crazy ones, Why not paint them yourself?

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Go to Michaels or a craft store and get fabric paints.

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You can put XOXO on the top so he can read them when he's looking down at his feet

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and your name or your kid's names, his grandkids or anybody else that you want.

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Kind of fun.

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And every time he puts them on, I guarantee he'll have some sort of comment.

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Ideally, if he loves them.

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Tip number three is a story jar.

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I love this one because it's so easy to do and it's ever changing.

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Here's what you need to do.

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Get a large jar with one of those snap close lids on them.

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Ideally huge, about a gallon size or so.

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You can get them at a variety store, a kitchen store, or in most grocery stores.

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Or even Walmart and Target.

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They're not expensive.

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I'd say probably about 5.

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Take colored craft paper or small note cards and write out a fun story

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about an adventure that you all had together as a family, or something

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that you've done on your own that you wanted to share with your dad.

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You can even add small photos scanned in from your computer

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and print it out and fold it up with a little tagline underneath.

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the amount of fun you can have is only dependent upon how many

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stories you put in that jar.

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Every day for Dad becomes a new joy filled adventure and a story.

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I suggest you even add the little wonky stories, like my dad

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used to eat everything I made.

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It never failed.

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Sometimes they were good and sometimes they weren't so good.

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True story.

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while learning to make bread, well, my breads were kind of doorstoppers

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to start until I figured out how to get the yeast to rise.

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Thank you, King Arthur Flour.

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But a couple of those loaves ended up being doorstoppers.

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One, my dad even broke a knife in.

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I've gotten a lot better since then.

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But I can remember that afternoon like it was yesterday.

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You'll also have a good laugh on that one.

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tip number four, if dad enjoyed gardening in years past, but can't

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get out to the garden, he's a little stiff, a little slow, or just, it's

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not safe to get out there, Then create a windowsill herb and veggie garden.

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You can take all of the supplies that you need to do so, bring them

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over to Dad, and put them together yourself, with his help of course.

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Maybe he won't actually participate, but I can guarantee

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he'll give you good direction.

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Plant them in a planter that can sit on the sill, and when they're ready

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to harvest, or cut, scrambled eggs.

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Or, a delicious simple syrup that's flavored with some of those veggie herbs.

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That's really easy to do.

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All you do is take one cup of boiling water to one cup of sugar,

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add the two together, make sure the sugar is dissolved, stuff a

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bunch of those herbs in there.

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The best is really mint.

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Oh, it's delicious.

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Once it's cooled, you can take a couple of spoonfuls of that delicious liquid and

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put it into a fresh glass of iced tea, lemonade, or even an Arnold Palmer drink.

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it's a great gift that keeps on giving and moving forward.

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And it's yummy too.

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Tip number five is a special day out, which is always something

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that we love doing, but this one can be just you and dad.

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In this case, if you can't be there with Dad on Father's Day, which we

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all can't, you might want to create a coupon book with ideas and a bunch of

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groupon deals with a note on each of what you can do next time you're there.

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Maybe even for the next six months as you come to visit next time, you can

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sit down and have fun figuring out which adventure you want to go on.

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And it'll be a discount because it's a groupon.

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Tip number six.

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A subscription to a magazine he's never gotten for himself, nor would

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he ever, probably because he's saying, Oh, that's just too expensive.

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It's crazy.

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One year I got my dad a subscription to National Geographic.

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He never got anything like that for himself, but he loved looking through the

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old magazines and National Geographics that were in the care facility that they

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were in for a very short period of time.

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you've likely heard about those stories in other episodes, but maybe

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we'll talk about that later on.

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In any case, he loved learning and reading about the adventures and their research

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being done and shared in each issue.

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So I decided to get him a fresh subscription.

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my dad would often tell me something that I didn't know about when we got together.

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or something new that he read about in a previous month's issue.

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Dad would always say, Oh, that's fantastic.

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Did you know about blah, blah, blah?

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No dad, I didn't.

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Thanks for sharing.

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Tip number seven.

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if you're near any kind of body of water and your parents loved or like

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cruising, but might physically not be able to actually do so, Or, could be

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cognitively limited, consider doing a 2 to 4 hour short chartered boat ride

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Around the local harbor or shore.

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Bring a decked out picnic basket for the afternoon cruise

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adventure and have some fun.

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This one is easy to do with all your family members.

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Bring the grandkids, your sister, your brothers.

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Well, if you don't want them, leave them at home, but hopefully

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you all get along pretty well.

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And make this one a memorable gift for you and for everybody.

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Bring your aides along, bring everybody along.

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It's an adventure for everyone.

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And yes, it can be a two to four hour cruise, whatever you want to do.

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less the Gilligan's Island crash, ideally.

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Tip number eight, I call, how can I count the ways?

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This is an easy one and kind of fun.

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If you're like me, and we spent hours, sometimes just laughing hysterically,

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well, maybe not hours, but at least an hour or so laughing at the cards in

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let's say a Hallmark gift store section,

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Then, why not pick up not just one or two cards, but 20 Father's Day cards,

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and send one a day for the next 20 days.

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Or better yet, send one a week for the next 20 weeks.

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Father's Day does not just come around once a year, neither does Mother's

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Day, but every day is Father's Day.

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So celebrate every day with a little fun and a little joy, and a card that might

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show up in the mail when you're not there.

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You can also create your own family adventure newsletter and

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send them to him once a week.

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take photos on your phone, put a little caption of what happened and some

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thoughts and share them with mom or dad.

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In this case, dad, because we're talking Father's Day.

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I used to do weekly letters to my dad with all the week's adventures

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and stories that went along.

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Some of them got a little embellished, But snapshots of photos that he had

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been in New York on business meetings.

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Well, we grew up in the Island.

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So he was in New York all the time doing business.

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And that I was at now as an adult, myself made it fun for me to share with him.

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And he remembered everything from Rockefeller center to the tulips

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that popped up in springtime, right along park Avenue.

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I shared every single one.

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And there was always a story that went along with it.

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I call those letters, letters from camp.

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Sometimes every day is a camp day.

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Right?

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Tip number nine is plant a tree in dad's honor.

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You can plant it in your backyard or someplace special that maybe mom

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or dad can come and visit regularly, especially in the springtime if it blooms.

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I recommend getting a tree that flowers so that you can see the progress

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and they can see the progress too.

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I have a good friend who's a founder of an organization called Heroes to Heroes,

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They plant trees in Israel with each group of veterans who have severe PTSD

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and Who go and build bonds with Israeli soldiers or veterans who have been in

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similar situations and learned to heal with their heads and their hearts.

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She planted a tree for my dad with her veteran guys, too.

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Thank you, Judy.

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You see, later on in life, my dad seemed to worry a lot about the vets.

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A World War II vet himself, he never talked about the experiences of war that

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were bad, except for one which horrified him, And that was how his commanding

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officer behaved with an enemy group after they had been captured on the U 505.

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It's a pretty interesting story.

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I'll put a link in the show notes to that, but I've got the inside one.

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And finally, tip number 10, just spending time with your dad, even if it's hanging

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out, watching old movies together.

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They may be boring for you.

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But I'm gonna guarantee they'll be fun for him and just quietly being there

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with him and mom Might be the gift that he's always wanted for a long time

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Don't let simple pleasures pass you by and don't let them pass by dad.

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Remember the song by Jim Croce?

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Cats in the cradle?

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When are you coming home, son?

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I don't know when, but we'll be together then, Dad.

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I know it'll be a good time then.

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Okay, so I'm not a singer, but please, whatever you do,

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don't let that happen to you.

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Our parents love us, and hopefully you love them too.

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The thing here is, a little love, creative thinking, and fun can go a long way.

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A traditional watch, a blanket, a burger on the grill, or just a phone call and a

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photo can be a bit dull to you and to him.

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those sort of obligatory or obligatory, I'm not going to pronounce that one right,

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but I'm going to let it go as a blooper.

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They can also lack a bit of heartfelt enthusiasm.

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I know we're all busy, but trust me, when dad's no longer here, you'll

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look back on the simple and fun things that you did for him and smile.

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Every day can be better than the next, for you and for your dad

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too, even if he's frail and your caregiving time is exhausting.

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All it takes is a little creative magic.,

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On that note, you can create just a little bit more magic for somebody else who's

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caring for an aging parent by sharing a link to this show EldercareSuccess.Live if

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you'd also share your ideas and thoughts with me on that page, I'd appreciate it.

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You can subscribe there too.

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There's a little blue tab on the right hand side that says Send Nancy Voicemail.

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That's if you want to send me a note and say hello your ideas.

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I'll air them on future shows and give you credit for them too.

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sharing your ideas, your thoughts, your comments, and more are a gift

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that you can give to everybody.

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As I like to say, we're stronger and better together.

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I hope you've enjoyed these top 10 tips or at least 10 interesting tips on

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creating Father's Day gifts that will be memorable for you and for your dad.

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Please enjoy your day.

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I hope dad does too.

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Be well, stay well, and keep caring.

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It's Nancy May from Eldercare Success.

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Bye bye.