Leap Year Day

Senior Care in Thomasville NC

If you are like most family caregivers, you are always wishing that you had a couple more hours in the day to help you handle all of the tasks and responsibilities of your senior care efforts with your elderly parent. While you are not going to be able to sneak extra time into your normal day, this year you do get the chance to add an extra day to your schedule. The year 2016 is Leap Year, meaning it is the time every four years calendars have an extra day to keep the counting of the years and the seasons on track. While it is essentially an arbitrary astronomical addition to prevent the drift of the seasons and various celestial events, it does mean that you have 366 days in 2016 – the perfect excuse for you to take a day out of your usual routine and have some fun with your aging parent.

Celebrating Leap Day on February 29 is all about making the most of this extra day rather than treating it like just another day on the calendar. This is a special day that only comes around every 4 years, so treat it like it! Let some of these ideas inspire you to plan fun and exciting Leap Year celebrations with your elderly loved one:

• Explore new restaurants. Make this day all about new and different experiences and start with what you eat with your loved one. Rather than just eating the same things that you always eat, head out into your community and discover some new restaurants together. Have breakfast, lunch, and dinner from different restaurants offering different cuisines so you can experience an entire day of special eating. You can do this affordably, and ensure that your adventure does not affect your diet goals too severely, by sharing large entrees or by sharing several appetizers rather than each of you getting a whole meal each time. If going out all day is too strenuous, order delivery and enjoy a relaxing evening together.
• Pamper yourselves. Spend quality time with your loved one and refresh yourself and her with a pampering day. Make some homemade bath salts, exfoliating scrubs, and body butters in your favorite relaxing scents and take the day to relax, share conversation, and enjoy this special time together.
• Go on an adventure. Check your list of places that you and your parent would like to visit and go on an adventure to that place. Set a goal to challenge yourself to do something that you think that you cannot do. Since this is an “extra” day in your life, pretend that it is a “pause” in your normal schedule, meaning those limitations that you place on yourself “do not really exist” on this day. This is a fantastic way to push yourself, accomplish goals, and stimulate your and your parent’s mind while making cherished memories. Whether it is something tremendous like having your parent and her senior health care services provider cheer you on while you run in a race that you did not think that you could do, or something smaller like trying on bathing suits together, let this day make you adventurous and courageous. After all, you are not going to get another one of these for another 4 years.

If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Thomasville, NC, contact the caring professionals at TenderHearted Home Care today. Call us at (704) 612-4132