AARP Colorado

NEW INTERACTIVE SEMINAR PROMOTES CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN FAMILIES AND OLDER ADULTS ABOUT OLDER DRIVER SAFETY

The Colorado History Center will be celebrating El Movimiento: The Chicano Movement in Colorado. Come and check out these great programs.

Join us Sunday, September 13, 2015, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to celebrate Grandparents Appreciation Day.

The con artist’s task is to cook up a scheme to separate you from yours. And Chef Charlatan is good at it.

A blog by Casey Gardiner:

A little bit of time makes a big difference. Join AARP Colorado and Serve Colorado for our "Book on into Reading" book drive to benefit the students of Rocky Mountain Elementary School in Clifton, CO. Our goal is to ensure that these children become successful readers by the end of third grade.

Join the Rocky Mountain MS Center this August for Multiple Summits for Multiple Sclerosis (#MS4MS)!

The Denver Commission on Aging and the Denver Office on Aging will be hosting the second annual Seniors in September event. Last year this event attracted over 300 older adults to the Denver Art Museum for a day of fun and learning about important services available. This year the event will offer free workshops on health, fitness and legal Issues pertaining to aging, as well as a community resource forum showcasing services from the City and County Denver and non-profit organizations. Mayor Michael Hancock will deliver a keynote speech, and a free lunch will be served to attendees. The event will be held at the Denver Art Museum on Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and is open to the public and those interested in issues concerning aging and older adults. Transportation will be provided by Innovage from select Denver locations.

I’m a pretty typical AARP member in CO. I’m in my 50s, active, working, have been a caregiver in the past for older loved ones while raising kids at home and balancing the challenges of being a member of the “sandwich generation.” I have felt the tug of never giving enough while having to balance some me-time to avoid burn out. I’m not unusual, I’m the new normal. That is why AARP has become so focused on providing support to caregivers, because nationally there are 42 million caregivers, and more than 584,000 family caregivers in our state who help their loved ones live independently.

When I moved my mom to Denver, she was 90 years old and she suffered from a form of dementia that made her unable to speak. Our family had decided that the best place for her to live would be a dementia unit in the same building where my dad would reside in independent living. Mom’s dementia unit was beautiful. It was sunny, upbeat, and attractively furnished. We thought she would be very happy there. The first day my husband and I visited her after her move to the unit, Mom was sitting in one of the anterooms. When we greeted her, she smiled, took my hand and, though she rarely spoke anymore, she clearly blurted out the words “I want to go home.” I was devasted. I understood how much she missed her beautiful home in Chicago, her blue and white china collection, her paintings she and Dad had purchased from their travels all over the world, her sunroom where she listened to music and knitted everyone scarves and hats for Christmas. What could I say that would make her feel better? I wasn’t sure anything would work, but I knew I had to try to at least attempt to encourage her to look on the bright side of her situation. I continued to hold her hand, I tried to look positive and I responded to her plea. “Mom,” I said, “I know how hard this is for you, but we can’t take care of you as well as the people here can take care of you. We’re all going to come and visit you and be with you as much as we can, but this is your new home now.” From that day on she never complained again and she graciously made the most of her situation. She participated in the unit’s activities, learned how to draw, showed people her soup making skills and went on field trips. It wasn’t easy to tell her what I needed to say, and it wasn’t easy for her to accept my words, but by talking about it together, each of us was more able to move on. Although I can’t say that during the time I cared for Mom I always chose the right words to say, at least I had the satisfaction of knowing that, in this one particular moment, I had communicated effectively. I think Mom could tell that I loved her and that I wanted to take care of her in the best way possible. I think she understood the message.