Same is true for several more senior pals who I have befriended and share joy.
While it's nice to give a gift of some sort to my aunt and my senior pals for Christmas... the plates, bobbles, coffee mugs, and figurines already overflow. The clothes they have are nice, and they can only use so many new pairs of socks, house slippers, or sweaters. The pantries are full, the cupboards aren't bare. There isn't a thing in the world that any of them want or need.
Having mid-stage Alzheimer's, my aunt is quite forgetful. She is frail and unable to get out on her own. She has gotten perturbed with herself when she discovers that she forgot to buy and mail a card to her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren for their birthdays.
So my gift to her and a few special senior pals, which I have been doing since I began the practice for my mother 17 years ago, is to go buy the cards for each person important to my aunt (and to my friends). I prepare mailing labels with the person's name and address, place it on the envelope, and put a stamp on it. Then I file the card in a card organizer by date. (Card organizers are available inexpensively from Amazon.)
All my aunt has to do (and sometimes with my prompting) is to check the monthly slot in the organizer at the start of each month and pull out the cards for that month, sign them, seal the envelopes, and put them out for the mail carrier to pick up. Simple! Perhaps someone receives a card a week or two early, but that's far better than not getting a card at all. And they are amazed at how she remembers their birthdays! We won't reveal our little secret. (LOL!)
As they say, it's the thought that counts. This is a way I show my love for someone who loves me very, very much, and for my senior pals for whom I care. I share this not for recognition, but to plant a seed for friends who are in similar situations with elderly parents and seniors in their lives.
Life is short: show those you love that you love them!
