Keeping elderly relatives and friends active is a live saving gesture.  For you and them!

We don't think about how important that hug or gesture can be to our elderly relatives and friends. 

As we age....it changes their mobility, their world.  Some people meet for coffee at the local coffee shops others meet for lunch, others never see anyone except on special occasions.

I watched my parents change before my eyes...both are gone now but the memories are vivid.  I watch as others around me crumble into a shell of what they used to be.  Mostly from inactivity.

Keeping them active and needed brings a smile to their faces...being included is all it takes.  Each person has a level of contribution they can commit too.

My father-in-law has dementia.  He recently went through hip replacement, kind of a double whammy!

We own a large home on two acres of land in a subdivision.  It is a bit unusual to have the privacy and access to services all rolled into one.  We chose to live here for this and many other reasons.

We also have a vast amount of landscaping, along with a waterfall and pond with a few small fish....if the Sand Hill Crane doesn't snack on them.

This has become my father-in-laws haven.  We kid him about our rose bushes...singing his name in the wind when they need pruned.  We have bushes, pampas grass, raspberries, grapes and needing his loving hand.

I put my arm around him yesterday thanking him for all the work and time he spends in our yard.  He looked at me with a look of disbelief...not that I never thank....instead his disbelief was how could I thank him for something he loves to do?

This is what keeps him going.  Coming to our home is his private sanctuary.  Trimming these bushes is his way of helping and extending the love back to us for all we have done for him. 

I must admit my wife helps him be a bit naughty too.  He gets little rewards that he normally can't have.  My mother-in-law watches his diet like a hawk.  He has some blood pressure issues, cholesterol problems and a couple other issues.

So being naughty means he might be rewarded with a small dish of ice cream with fudge on it.  He might get a pizza for lunch delivered from one of our local Italian favorite restaurants.

He might get a cup of coffee and a roll (low fat!) he wouldn't normally have.  Everything in moderation of course.

The point is....keeping him active and involved is keeping him alive and useful.  When people no longer feel useful is when they slip in health, mind and soon are gone.

Keep your loved ones, friends active and involved.  You'll be able to enjoy them and them you for years to come.

If you don't have someone to help keep active, volunteer you will be rewarded with smiles and a relationship opportunity to cherish the rest of your life.

How have keeping your loved ones and friends active workded for you?