How to keep visiting parents busy!

Hi everyone!

I was researching how to keep my Mom engaged during her current visit to the US and came across this forum. After going through a few threads, I found it interesting and hence I am now starting this thread... A little about me... I have been in the US for the past 9 years and have lived in the DC metro area for the most part. Currently I live in Potomac Falls (next to Sterling) area. We (me and my husband of three years) moved to this house about a year and half ago and since then we have been trying to find a group of like minded people for ourselves as well as our visiting parents.

So back to the point of starting this thread.. Both of us work fulltime in high stress jobs and my mother is visiting us from India. My father died about 2 and a half years ago and so she feels very lonely in a house without anything to occupy her. I am looking for suggestions from all of you ladies regarding how to keep her busy. I was hoping that I could find a few Indian families in our community, but sadly, I have not been able to do so..I am open to starting a senior get together.. a potluck kind of thing or any activity where we can get our parents together and give them something to look forward to...

Looking forward to all suggestions.

Thanks all!

Seema

Seema,

Nice thread !! Welcome to IL BTW..

Good idea about the potluck. May I suggest a few [ that me, my friends and relatives did?]

(1) If she loves reading and if community library is nearby, may be she can spend some time when you guys are off to work? Else may be weekends, you can bring in many books for her to read thru the week?

(2) Is it a good neighborhood? If so, may be she can so for walks in the late afternoon and if there are many indian parents, I bet she will make friends with them without your help ;)

(3) What about neighbors? Are they indians and any housewives or work from home ladies or parents. May be you can invite them once during weekend and if your mom is comfortable, they can catch up during weekdays in either houses :)

(4) Try to do during her stay "work from home" for 2 days like tues and thur or something to that effect. So that you can spend time with her atleast physically and she will be happy to cook something for you and stuff.

(5) Since commute is such a big issue here, she cannot be doing anything without your dependency :( So what about entertainment - do you have indian channels - if satellite - Dish and Direct TV has loads of them. Cable too I guess. Else there are lots of internet sites she can see the serials and stuff.

(6) Is there a home computer? May be you can teach her the basics.. so that she can read newpapers online and magazines she likes...

(7) Weekends, since you guys are there, you can take her outing[you shud do actually], because all the week she is at home correct, she will love to be outside. You can go to local state parks nothing luxury trips :) just being outside..

( Have game day like potluck, where its just snacks and can have games. Yes.. you will be amazed how elders enjoy playing games. But the group shud have majority elders, else your mom might shy away :)


hmm thats all I can think off, i will post if I think any :)

BTW did I tell you how much proud you make me feel for taking care of your mom and understanding her feelings. Hats off to ya !!

Originally Posted by Nandshyam

Seema,

Nice thread !! Welcome to IL BTW..

Good idea about the potluck. May I suggest a few [ that me, my friends and relatives did?]

(1) If she loves reading and if community library is nearby, may be she can spend some time when you guys are off to work? Else may be weekends, you can bring in many books for her to read thru the week?

(2) Is it a good neighborhood? If so, may be she can so for walks in the late afternoon and if there are many indian parents, I bet she will make friends with them without your help ;)

(3) What about neighbors? Are they indians and any housewives or work from home ladies or parents. May be you can invite them once during weekend and if your mom is comfortable, they can catch up during weekdays in either houses :)

(4) Try to do during her stay "work from home" for 2 days like tues and thur or something to that effect. So that you can spend time with her atleast physically and she will be happy to cook something for you and stuff.

(5) Since commute is such a big issue here, she cannot be doing anything without your dependency :( So what about entertainment - do you have indian channels - if satellite - Dish and Direct TV has loads of them. Cable too I guess. Else there are lots of internet sites she can see the serials and stuff.

(6) Is there a home computer? May be you can teach her the basics.. so that she can read newpapers online and magazines she likes...

(7) Weekends, since you guys are there, you can take her outing[you shud do actually], because all the week she is at home correct, she will love to be outside. You can go to local state parks nothing luxury trips :) just being outside..

( Have game day like potluck, where its just snacks and can have games. Yes.. you will be amazed how elders enjoy playing games. But the group shud have majority elders, else your mom might shy away :)


hmm thats all I can think off, i will post if I think any :)

BTW did I tell you how much proud you make me feel for taking care of your mom and understanding her feelings. Hats off to ya !!

Nandhu:

Thanks for the post.. I really appreciate all the suggestions that you have brought out. We have been taking her to the library, trying to find some Indian families in the neighbourhood etc, but I guess she is missing the human interaction during the day.. something to look forward to kind of thing...

So question ladies.. does anyone want to set-up a seniors potluck .. I am ready to sponsor the first one and then we can have a rotating get together on a bi-weekly basis. What say you all...

Hi Seema,

Along with pot luck, do check with your local temple - our temple has something for older people titled "young at heart - for people 60 and over" which meets once a month. When you visit the temple, you can also find out if she can involve herself in any activities like editing articles for the magazines, preparing anything for a special ocassion, making some thing for the dieties etc.

Hope this suggestion also helps.

Hi Seema,

Count me in, I love your idea of potlucks...on another note, as Srama said our local temples do have such activities for senior citizens, you mom can become a volunteer and do her service to the temple, I know a friend of mine, whose parents do their service at the temple canteen, like collecting bills and helping around accounting or selling plants or calendars and what not...I have also heard about spirutual activities going on around DCArea, like Sai bajans , Satsangs , please check if any such thing is happening in your locality...and also i have heard about Chinmaya mission conducting various activities like slokha hour, bhajans, Bhagavathgita sessions , please check there too....And also check the below post (you might have seen this earlier, but just in case), you might get some idea...

Parents/Inlaws Visiting US: Ideas to spend time interestingly.

Sri