Is It Time To Hit The Reset Button On  STRESS?

The National Alliance for Caregiving estimates  more that 65 million of Americans are currently taking care of aging or sick relatives. A lot of us have learned what it means to give tirelessly for our loved ones. Is there an emotional  limit to giving for caregivers?  What about some kind of pressure relief valve for really tough days?

Many caregivers are stressed out, pulling their hair out with time constraints, money problems and the uncertainty in the job market and financial world.  They are  totally consumed with the demands of caring for their loved one.  It can be difficult to keep an optimistic view of the future with such heavy load to bear.

A typical day with a caregiver looks much the same as the day before. . You drive your  elderly parent or relative to their  Medical appointment . You get to  the house early to compile a list of the latest medications , dosage and frequency – along with all of the over the counter drugs  and  dietary supplements that are are taken.

Keeping in Touch Solutions offers a medication record booklet for you to record all the medications being taken including Over the counter. There is no charge and may be requested by sending an email.

Before you leave the house  You try to remember all the questions you wanted to ask the Doctor…..You remember that your aging parents don’t ask questions and don’t offer  much information  for the doctor to work with…

After the Doctors visit, you move on to get the prescription filled……this is a land mine waiting to happen.  Always talk to the Doctor or Pharmacist before you start a new medication  or stop taking a medication. Be sure to share with the Pharmacist a complete list of medications and over the counter medication being taken your loved one…ask about drug interactions that can be deadly.

There are always lingering thoughts about your loved ones deteriorating health and fear of losing them.
There is fear about not being able to do enough and to adequately take care of your elderly loved one.
With dementia and Alzheimer  we know we may not be able to fix the problem- so overwhelming.
As caregivers we feel sad and alone. Finding a stress-free lifestyle seems like a dream .

How do you maintain a stress -free lifestyle and still  find balance when you are caring for elderly or sick?  Much has been said about taking time off to gain some relief. Remind yourself that caregiving is just one phase of  of life. We keep reminding ourselves that one day we will be be the aging parent.
So, the one day at a time works with care giving too!

There are ways we can have relief and reset out stress button. On question we can ask ourselves is, what is it that gives me joy in my life?  If taking an afternoon walk, having a night out with girlfriends or taking a yoga class are thing you enjoy most -then do it now. Pick up the phone and schedule now.

It is by doing that we find the possibilities of creating the life we want and seek. “We all face stress    on  daily basis. Sometimes it is situational stress, sometimes it is ongoing and sometimes it is our environment and  sometime it is the people in the environment.” said Diana Beam, Founders of Keeping in Touch Solutions.

Take time to retreat and refocus your energies, thoughts and resources on positive situations…the things you can change. It is like taking a tour of your home, you’ll find at least 20 things that you rarely use and five that you use regularly. What happened to the other 15 objects…well ,they are taking up space and require our attention to clean and dust.  So it is like the extra thoughts and clutter that clogs up our mind and gives us those destructive “self talks” that ware us down. They are quite useless.- release!

Likewise in our daily schedules, weekly activities there maybe demanding activities and people who are stealing our energy , time and  emotional resources. As caregivers for our aging parents, grandparents  and  neighbors, we have a  lot on our plate and can not  allow situations or others to drain our energies nor add  unnecessary stress to the day.

Guard your thoughts, protect your energy and  honor yourself by taking some retreat time- if only a few minutes each day to do the things you enjoy. Share a laugh with a  friend, as my friend Dina tell us “you can’t do it alone” Reset your stress button today..

May be time to click your heels and yell
“Help Me – I can’t do it alone”
I’m Calling Keeping In Touch Solutions
We call your loved one every day- rain or shine to check in and be sure everything is ok

You’ll have the peace of mind you desire,
knowing that your loved one is being checked on daily-and
if anything is amiss, you’ll be notified immediately.

Diana Beam is an entrepreneur with a vision and a heart for the elderly. She has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, long term care administrator, home health care pioneer, senior real estate specialist and owner of Keeping in Touch Solutions. Her passion is to see working women and men with elderly p arents set free from guilt of not having time or proximity to their aging parents and helping the elderly with their aging needs and transition challenges. Diana lives in Indiana with her husband Ron and they have 3 grown children, 2 grandsons and a golden retriever named Hope and a calico cat named Ms Dottie. Grab her free report, 7 ways to provide maximum support to your parents, today.

Do You Love Your Heart?
Ways to Turn Stress into Calm

February is associated with the color red, love, Special Valentines, chocolates and the American Heart Month. Women of any age, caregivers, and our elderly mom and grandma would all appreciate a box of chocolate this time of the year (dark chocolate is good for your health).

It is also a month for Heart Health Awareness. Heart disease is the number one killer of women. Typically, it comes unexpectedly and can happen to women of any age. One example is a 50 year old woman who felt a little more tired than usual while doing her daily chores of taking care of her aging parents and three children ages 10 to 17.

She was driving around town taking care of errands when she felt weak on her ankles and noticed they were a little swollen. Plus, there was shortness of breath that had become normal. She was feeling stressed out rushing around taking care of her aging mom and running her athletic children to soccer and football practice. She thought it was just another stressful day.

Then one day, she felt the usual flu and fever and finally went to the doctor… she had high blood pressure and was immediately sent to the emergency room for an abnormal heart condition. In her case, it was not too late.

3 Ways to bust the stress and work on the healthy heart you deserve:

#1 Evaluate your heart health. Your blood pressure, cholesterol level and general health conditions will show if you are prone to heart disease. Added to these factors, stress, anger and depression could trigger heart disease and damage your coronary arteries.

Know that your emotional well-being is linked to heart disease. If you are stressed out, you tend to drink more, eat more, feel bad, and get depressed. All these negative behaviors will lead to a heart that is unhealthy and sad.

It is not just the physical condition of your body. It’s time to evaluate your mental and spiritual well-being as well. Remember to visit your primary physician yearly.

#2 Take steps for a healthier heart. To have a healthier heart takes work. It involves choices we make each day. This includes our choice of food, activity, amount of sleep and the people we associate with each day.

The food we eat: Most doctors recommend five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day to have a healthier heart. What about going meatless once a week? Beans and rice save us lots of money and are good for our hearts too.

Daily activities: Walking is the easiest way to improve your health. According to AARP, you will get peak benefits from walking if you do it several times a week for 30 minutes each time. Instead of sitting at home, take a walk around the neighborhood and improve your heart health and increase your mental alertness. Encourage your elderly parents to take short walks and add distance each time they walk. Plus, it’s a great time for conversation.

Increase sleep time: Sleeping will repair our body cells. The lack of sleep can make us prone to high blood pressure, hormonal imbalance, obesity and high cholesterol. Sleep is essential for good for your body, mind and soul.

#3 Take time to breathe and have a soothing cup of tea. Caregivers, when was the last time you took time for yourself…to enjoy the scones and tea or hang out with your girlfriends? Hanging out with friends and having a good laugh is one of the best ways to relieve stress. Studies show that men and women who belong to a social network like a church group, book club or have a tight group of friends and family have a lower risk of heart disease. Lower your risk of heart disease, plus you will feel better and be happier.

Don’t stand alone…seek out friendship and go out and have fun.

Work stress can also translates to higher risks of heart disease. Do you know the condition of your heart?

Remember, if you harbor anger, are battling with depression or have a stressful job, you are at risk. The sandwich-generation (that is, those who care for aging parents) who have children and hold a job are at the highest risk.

Take time this month to evaluate and take control of your life. Maybe it is time to simplify and start eating healthier, work out a plan to exercise and enjoy your life.

“Change the things you can, relax, and accept the things you can’t change…rediscover old interests or cultivate new ones to keep your mind and soul afresh. Keep a smile on your face and you will attract more and friendlier people into your life,” says Diana Beam, Founder of Keeping in Touch Solutions.

For less than a cup of Starbucks coffee per day, Keeping in Touch Solutions can help get rid of some of your stress and guilt by calling your loved on daily. Keeping In Touch Solutions calls your loved one for you when you can’t be there so you don’t have to worry!

We are here to serve – for more information, please call us at 1.800.664.5541. Please leave your comments below.

Diana Beam is an entrepreneur with a vision and a heart for the elderly. She has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, long term care administrator, home health care pioneer, senior real estate specialist and owner of Keeping in Touch Solutions. Her passion is to see working women and men with elderly p arents set free from guilt of not having time or proximity to their aging parents and helping the elderly with their aging needs and transition challenges. Diana lives in Indiana with her husband Ron and they have 3 grown children, 2 grandsons and a golden retriever named Hope and a calico cat named Ms Dottie. Grab her free report, 7 ways to provide maximum support to your parents, today.

Good morning Diana, This past Friday was ‘wear red day’ to highlight awareness of the impact heart disease has on women. It occurred to me that it’s fair and fine to wear red for just one day, but that it takes an ongoing dialogue to really heighten our awareness as women. Why? Because typically we tend to place ourselves last on our list of priorities. Also we tend to walk around thinking this could not happen to us. It happens to other people. This article highlights some important facts everyone needs to know about heart disease.  So even if you happen to be a male subscriber reading this newsletter this morning, I know that just by virtue of your existence you have to have at least one female in your life-your mother, perhaps a wife, significant other, co-worker. I’m requesting that we all take a few moments to arm ourselves with some new knowledge, because perhaps sometime in the future you will be able to save a woman’s life who just wants to brush aside those symptoms that she has been having. As always I would love to read your comments and feedback. Have a great day!! February is heart disease awareness month for women. As a physician with over 20 years of experience, it is my passion to help women learn all that they can to enhance their health and wellbeing.And yet I find that even today that a lot of women do not know the facts when it comes to heart disease.  Case in point, there used to be a time when it was thought that women under the age of 50 could not suffer a heart attack. So you can imagine what happened if you were a woman and you went to see your doctor with a complaint of chest pain. Your doctor would usually reassure you that it was not your heart and perhaps you had indigestion or were under a lot of stress and prescribe something for that. The truth is that there are still some doctors out there that treat their female patients that way. And so, it is extremely important if you are a woman that you arm yourself with the facts. I have highlighted some important facts in today’s video: Here are some other facts that you need to be aware of- 71% of women experience the early signs of a heart attack as a sudden onset of weakness, and not chest pain as our male counterparts do. Now let’s face it, if you were to go to an emergency department complaining that you are feeling weak, more than likely you’ll be sent home with an ‘off work slip’ and admonished to get some rest!! At the same time, not all complaints of weakness indicate a heart attack!! Women who smoke risk having a heart attack 19 years earlier than women who do not smoke. So think about it, if you are a woman and you have been smoking since you were in your teens (which by my experience is the time that most people start a bad habit like smoking ), then your risk of having a heart attack begins to rise toward your forties. Under the age of 50 women’s heart attacks are twice as fatal as men. This is all the more reason to be persistent when something does not seem right. Heart disease will kill six times more women this year than breast cancer. Marital stress worsens the outcome of a heart attack. I have written an article about broken heart syndrome. To read about that click here. WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU WHEN YOU SUFFER A HEART ATTACK? When you suffer a heart attack, the blood supply to an area of the heart muscle gets blocked off. Sometimes the blockage may not be a complete blockage and blood can still get by to the heart muscle. This is called ischemia or angina. The classic symptoms are chest pains, chest discomfort, and chest heaviness. Sometimes the pain may go down the left arm. Or as women we may have what is called ‘atypical symptoms’ like unusual weakness, heartburn, dizziness, etc. But remember just as I pointed out, some women may not have the classic presentation of ischemia. The good news is that if the blood supply is restored at this point, then no permanent damage occurs to the heart muscle. When the blood vessel to a particular are of the heart remains blocked for a period of time, eventually the heart muscle begins to die off. This is when a heart attack happens; the damage cannot be reversed and the heart muscle dies and it is replaced by scar tissue. Scar tissue reduces the functioning of the heart and eventually causes heart failure and death. WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY: This is exactly what I will be speaking more about in this week’s wellbeing moment. The wellbeing moment is a video blog that I post on weekdays. If you have not subscribed I encourage you to sign up for your free subscription which is delivered first thing in the morning to your email inbox: Click here to go to be taken to today’s wellbeing moment Now more than ever we as women need to become more pro-active in our overall health and wellbeing. We need to stop making excuses for poor lifestyle choices. More importantly we need to accept that these lifestyle choices not only shorten our lives, but also the quality of the life that we have left. I’m not sure about you but I want to be health and vibrant into my 90s and beyond! The question is- are you willing to invest the time and effort in enhancing your health and wellbeing? Let’s face it, your relationship with your doctor can sometimes be very ‘ paternalistic’ if I may use those words. There’s also the time restriction. With the constant change in demands made by insurance companies the amount of time that you are likely to be able to spend with your physician is going to continue to be cut down. Simply due to the burden of paperwork and also rising overhead costs. If you would like to have a different experience and work with someone who had the combination of over 20 years as a physician getting people the results that they desire and backed by training as a professional life coach then, I would invite you to consider working with me as your life coach. The reality is NOW is the only time you have. Click here to schedule a free 30-minute sample session. If you have the qualities of the select group of people I am looking to work with, I will offer 10% off your initial month of coaching. You have nothing to lose but you will gain tools to enhance your health and overall wellbeing. For more information about women and heart disease facts, please click here to download the fact sheet. Born in London and raised in Nigeria, Dr. Eno Nsima-Obot is a board certified Internal Medicine Physician, with over 20 years of experience in the health & wellness industry. She graduated from medical school in 1987 with awards in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Clinical Pharmacology and General Surgery. She was also the recipient for the quarterly award for compassion when she worked as a primary care physician with a large multi-specialty medical group in Chicago. She is trained as an ontological life coach and is committed to helping professional women achieve a higher level of wellbeing as the roadmap to experiencing a more wholesome life. To download a free copy of her e-book ‘Dr. Eno’s Secret Strategies to Aging Gracefully’ click here ******************************** Wellbeing Tip of the week Learn as much as you can about your family history. A lot of times we tend to keep ailments a secret because we  may think that we are bothering family members. But knowing your genetic heritage can save your life. Only by becoming aware of your family history can you make important changes in your lifestyle. Become pro-active and start a dialogue today. ***************************************

Copyright © 2012 ASK DOCTOR ENO, Inc.

Information in this newsletter is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. You should not use the information from my web site or newsletter to diagnose, treat a health problem or disease, or for  prescribing any medication or other treatment.
WellCare Physician Services, Inc, P.O. Box 42758, Evergreen Park, IL 60805, USA

Caregivers, Aging Parents, Grandparents: Are You Ready For Some Football in Indianapolis?

Imagine your elderly ma and grandma going on a zipline in the Super Bowl Village this weekend…along with fun, food and music. This year, Indianapolis is hosting Super Bowl XLVI and we are celebrating this event with a Big Bang for the young and the ‘elderly’.

Are you ready for some football? This grandma will not be doing zipline but she sure will go down to the village to cheer the volunteers. There are 8,000 volunteers with the ‘super scarves’. The blue and white hand crocheted scarves are the Super Bowl Host Committee’s way of showing their gratitude to volunteers and to keep them warm. The scarves will help you identify volunteers if you need help.

Indianapolis is a city filled with culture and top attractions. About 200 restaurants and 50 attractions are located within walking distance from the Lucas Oil Stadium and surrounding hotels.

If you are here for the first time among the 200,000 visitors, remember, the people who live here are called Hoosiers…”who is here?”

There are ten things you must do as a visitor (according to the Super Bowl Official Visitor Guide):

10. “Know before you go” Check out the parking plans and transportation at www.indianapolissuperbowl.com.
9. Say hello and thank all the Hoosiers that have worked hard to make this event possible.
8. Try the Super46Sandwich.
7. Visit super celebration sites around the state.
6. Help fight breast cancer by texting CURE to 27722 and donate $10 to support Indy’s Super Cure.
5. Discover the 46 for XLVI Murals.
4. Take a picture with one-of-a-kind Super Cars Mix Indy Racing.
3. Explore the city and Lucas Oil Stadium.
2. Don’t miss the zipline ride.
1. Try the GMC NFL Experience.

If you are a fan of Peyton Manning, don’t lose heart even if he is not playing at the Super Bowl this year, you may want to try to eat at Harry and Izzy’s Restaurant. Peyton Manning co-owns this restaurant located at 153 S. Illinois St., Indianapolis, IN46225.

Caregivers, you deserve a visit to the Monument Circle’s Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the center of town and have a breathtaking view of the city and the $720 million stadium. The view is sure to impress you and your aging parents if you are bringing them with you.

The Lucas Oil Museum has the largest NFL retractable roof in the world and it only takes 11 minutes to open. You probably could see it in action at the Monument.

Maybe take your elderly grandparents for a ride north from Downtown to Zionsville to visit a family-owned organic dairy farm called Traders Point Creamery. They are the supplier for Whole Foods Stores nationwide.

Visit the milking parlor and end the visit with the best hot chocolate in town. This will sure be a delight for the elderly, the caregiver and the children.

Keeping in Touch Solutions is located in Indiana. We are only minutes away from downtown where all the actions are taking place this weekend.

Super Bowl is an American sport event and tradition. It is a time for family and friends to gather for football and food. “Indianapolis is a great city for families to visit. There are many activities to suit your aging parents, you the caregiver and your children of any age. Come visit our great city,” says Founder Diana Beam at “Keeping in Touch Solutions.com.

Feel free to contact us at keepingintouchsolutions@gmail.com or call us at 1.800.664.5541 for more information about our services.

P.S. Thank you to all the volunteers at the Super Bowl Village for making this huge event possible for the city of Indianapolis.

(Zipline Photo Credit: Jess Baker, weather.com)

Who Will You Call When Your Aging Parents Need Help?
I was just reading through a General Discussion page on a blog site where a caregiver was sharing an experience about taking Mom to the emergency room because her urine was looking like cranberry juice.

When asked by the Doctor where it hurt, Mom said her hands. Mom has UTI…she insisted only her hands hurt, not her belly or her lower areas.
Mom was looking frail and squeezing her hands so hard they hurt and didn’t know what hurt her the most when she went to the Doctor.

The questions that arose from this incident was:
I feel terrible (daughter) because I have missed so much in the daily life of my aging parents?
How long has this been going on -is she suffering from pain but no one caught it- is this a normal way of feeling for Mom?
Should Have I listened more to my aging parents?
Do I need to listen differently now that my elderly parents are facing possible medical problems?

Our aging parents grew up in an era with the “I can do it myself” mantra and as things progresses in their aging journey…that mindset can make or break them.    Certainly, this mindset will help them stay independent longer.

As they age, their health status may change, so there is an ongoing need to assess their situation and to take into consideration the different resources they may need. But we know that mindset often determines the outcomes. So one of the biggest gifts we can give our aging loved ones is the gift of gratitude. It takes some effort but looking forward with a grateful heart is a prescription for happiness.

Many people today don’t realize that the reason they’re not happy, and not enjoying life is simply because they’ve trained their minds in the wrong direction.
They’ve trained their minds to worry and to complain. They’ve trained their minds to see the negative. But just as you can form these negative mindsets, you can retrain your mind.

I believe one of the main keys to retraining your mind and developing a positive attitude is by learning to stay grateful. When you stay grateful, you are focusing on what’s right rather than what’s wrong. This doesn’t happen automatically, you have to discipline yourself.

You have to make a conscious effort every single day until a good habit is formed. It usually takes 21 days to form a new habit.

Remember, when you live with an attitude of praise and thanksgiving, you are shielding yourself…

The seeds of discouragement cannot take root in a grateful heart nor can bitterness, or strife. So today, retrain your mind and help your loved ones to dwell on gratitude and healthy mind and body.

It is difficult to be alone with your aches and pains and sometimes that is all that is predictable but “everyone can find something to be grateful for each morning “says Founder Diana Beam at “At Keeping in Touch Solutions.com. We ask our clients to name at least three things they are grateful for on our daily check in call.”

Ask today:
What are the three things I am grateful for?
There is power in gratitude. You will feel a shift in your mindset and attitude. Try it today.

Here are websites, resources for you to consider when you have Medical questions related to Medicare:
Medical Care. There are different types of services and plans provided by Medicare. Get ready with the plans and the numbers .

As always feel free to contact us at keepingintouchsolutions@gmail.com or call us at 1.800.664.5541 for more information.

P.S. Thank you Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church, Houston for his inspiration and prayers.

Diana Beam is an entrepreneur with a vision and a heart for the elderly. She has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, long term care administrator, home health care pioneer, senior real estate specialist and owner of Keeping in Touch Solutions. Her passion is to see working women and men with elderly p arents set free from guilt of not having time or proximity to their aging parents and helping the elderly with their aging needs and transition challenges. Diana lives in Indiana with her husband Ron and they have 3 grown children, 2 grandsons and a golden retriever named Hope and a calico cat named Ms Dottie. Grab her free report, 7 ways to provide maximum support to your parents, today.

“The elderly have money and they are nice, they take time to talk to you on the phone…” Have you heard that statement before? They are also the ones that scam artists go for.

What if your aging parents live alone and their health is deteriorating? Or they may be suffering from Alzheimer and no one knows about it. Their mindset and way of thinking may have already changed…now what?

Now they are not only being challenged with health and memory issues, but the calls from scam artists or strangers that show up at their door… asking for donations or about claiming their free trips….

Can anything be done as caregiver to help your aging parents or do we just hope and pray for the best?

Register your aging parents’ phone number on the National Do Not Call registry. Call 888-382-1222 or register at their website at www.donotcall.gov. Once they are registered, telemarketers are not allowed to call their number.

Check with your aging parents’ physician if they have any warning signs of Alzheimer. You can also find out if they quickly forget, are confused about time and places, find solving problems challenging, poor judgment, misplacing things, changing moods or personality.

Get help from www.keepingintouchsolutions.com. We are here to help care for your aging parents. Loneliness may cause our seniors to be extra friendly when strangers call on the phone or at their door.

Keeping In Touch Solutions was created to make that call on your behalf everyday to check in and to be sure everything is going ok. For many of the homebound, this is the only call they will receive all day.

Get involved with their finances like credit card and debit card monthly statements. They need someone to keep track of the transactions and report fraud as soon as possible.

Don’t make any purchases over the phone unless they initiated the call. Put a note near the phone with a reminder not to give out any personal information over the phone when someone calls.

Don’t use services rendered by someone who knocks on the door. Strangers like a lawn guy or tree cutter may knock on their door offering help. Remind your aging parents to contact someone they know about the services before getting the services. To be safe, our elderly parents need to say ‘no’ to strangers at the door.

Visit them regularly. Someone needs to check on our elderly parents frequently. If you live far away, get help from a local agency to check on your aging parents. If hiring a local help is impossible, please let us know. We can be their lifeline to the outside world and a go-to person for you just in case you can’t reach your aging parents immediately.

Many caregivers are finding it hard to even keep up with their own work and family. Sometimes the thought of not spending enough time with aging parents makes them feel guilty. Let’s check our mindset about caring for aging parents. A healthy mindset = no guilt and unloaded burden.

Keeping In Touch Solutions can help unload your burden with as little as $49.94 per month. You decide on the level of service that best suits your needs.

Here are the two levels:
Silver members pay $ 49.94 per month. Gold membership is $99.99 per month.
You may pay with Master, Visa, or American Express charge. Any promotions will be addressed at the time of application when your credit card will be charged for month one and two. 55 days after you enroll, your credit card will be charged for the coming month.

Let us know how we can assist you. Please call us at 1800-664-5541. Leave us a comment below.

Diana Beam is an entrepreneur with a vision and a heart for the elderly. She has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, long term care administrator, home health care pioneer, senior real estate specialist and owner of Keeping in Touch Solutions. Her passion is to see working women and men with elderly p arents set free from guilt of not having time or proximity to their aging parents and helping the elderly with their aging needs and transition challenges. Diana lives in Indiana with her husband Ron and they have 3 grown children, 2 grandsons and a golden retriever named Hope and a calico cat named Ms Dottie. Grab her free report, 7 ways to provide maximum support to your parents, today.

If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right, said Henry Ford. What we think at the start of the day may determine the mood for the rest of the day.

Life has its challenges as our aging parents may have reminded us. There are people who face whatever is before them and do their very best to push through. Yet there are some who always have these words:

“I deserve it”
“You owe me”

Our future is in our head…the choice would be victim or victor.
According to Dictionary.com a victim is a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action. Victor is a person who defeats an enemy or opponent in a battle, game, or other competition.

Notice three keywords in a victim…harmed, injured or killed. Unless we have been wronged in those three ways, we have to be victor and not let circumstances defeat us.

Everything starts with a thought. Henry Ford had a thought of making available multiple automobiles, thus revolutionizing the American transportation and industries in general. He had a global vision and had friends that thought the same ways. Among many were Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone. These two gentlemen, like Henry Ford, need no introduction to the American people.

These three industrialists were pioneers during the days when many said whatever they want cannot be done. Your aging parents or grandparents may have vivid memory of these men and have taught you lessons about their lives, lessons on facing challenges, having visions and making things happened. These are pioneers and contributors of the American culture and success.

What sets them apart and how do we gear up our mind and our aging parent’s mind to have a victor’s mindset and eventually get what we want each day?

1.    Do we believe in ourselves or do we believe in the negative people we hang out with? One interesting quote from Steve Maraboli: ‘If you hang out with chickens, you’re going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you’re going to fly.’
2.    Do we believe in the media and let the media influence our thought? Most news channels have negative stories and events broadcasted live everyday. We are undergoing a brainwash if we allow our ears to listen to them all day.
3.    How is your self-esteem? Many of us are told we are ugly, stupid or not good enough by our peers, family members, teachers and coaches intentionally or unintentionally.
4.    Are you afraid to embrace new ideas, get a new job or move to another town for a better job?
5.    Dave Ramsey asked this question on his site: What is your mission? Get a game plan so you know where you’re going. If we don’t have a plan we are living our life by chance.

Knowing where we are going with our life and the lives of our elderly parents will help us get what we want and live a more harmonious victor’s lifestyle.

Your aging parents and grandparents may be overcomers of the great depression or wars and have great insights about living with a victor’s mindset. Yet as they get older, all control is gone and now with a set of new challenges, they may be helpless.

Here at Keeping in Touch Solutions we want to extend our help and services to you if you are a caregiver…we could be your distance caregiver who gives daily check up calls to your aging parents or grandparents.

Give us a call at 1800-664-5541 or leave us a comment below.

Diana Beam is an entrepreneur with a vision and a heart for the elderly. She has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, long term care administrator, home health care pioneer, senior real estate specialist and owner of Keeping in Touch Solutions. Her passion is to see working women and men with elderly p arents set free from guilt of not having time or proximity to their aging parents and helping the elderly with their aging needs and transition challenges. Diana lives in Indiana with her husband Ron and they have 3 grown children, 2 grandsons and a golden retriever named Hope and a calico cat named Ms Dottie. Grab her free report, 7 ways to provide maximum support to your parents, today.

Many are relying on food stamps. Money and budget are not favorite topics for most families. Married couples fight over it and aging parents may not want to talk about it for fear of lecturing  or ridicule  from their children. Has lack thinking become your new norm?

Now that the holiday season is over and with all the shopping done, many are facing the credit card bill this month. As a mother and grandmother I know how you feel- especially if you didn’t follow your budget or if your grandchildren need a few extra bucks.

Keep in mind… Only a very few senior citizens are part of the entitlement and “I deserve” group. Most grew up with the independent and “I can do it myself” mantra.  Their grit and strong resolve are the very core of what made this great country. Faith and praying is good.  There is a saying ‘If you want potatoes you’ve gotta hoe the garden’…..so take action and get our feet moving.

Taking personal responsibility requires a different mindset towards our circumstances and a new way of thinking. Dave Ramsey at daveramsey.com has a wealth of information about overcoming our lack mindset, taking control of finances, and living a more fulfilled and responsible lifestyle for ourselves and our children.

Here are five steps to help us and our aging parents move our feet and take control of our finances and not tolerate worry, anxiety or sleepless nights:
1.   Having conversations about it. Aging parents, you and your siblings helping and encouraging each other to look at our finances and trim and cut back all unnecessary expenses. It is easier said than done but what is there to lose? Make a call and connect with your loved ones and help each other out. Please read more about it on our previous article entitled: Look, Ramen noodles.
2.   Invest and build a home business together. The only way to have more money coming in is by generating extra income. Either through a second job or a business. We can invest together to develop a family business and run it from home. There are many regional businesses that could be done at home like a lawn care service. Can you imagine, if you had one lawn to take care of for $50 per month, it will be $500 if you had 10 new customers.
3.   Grow a garden. To free up yourself and your aging parents from buying vegetables from stores, start a garden. Your aging parents may be able to spend their leisure time doing container gardening.  Many remember victory gardens.  It is an easier way to garden than having a truck patch or huge raised growing area.
4.   Shrink your expenses with billshrink.com. According to CNN billshrink.com can help us identify lower-cost providers for phone and cable. Phone and cable could cost us about $2,000 per year to maintain.
5.   Sell unused stuff. All of us probably have trunk loads of things to sell. This is the time of year to clear out and purge so instead of throwing them out, we may be able to raise money by selling them online or through a local newspaper or Craigslist’s. You can then donate the unsold items to charity and get a receipt for your charitable donation.

Many who are caring for their elderly parents are finding it challenging to keep up with their own finances and the needs of their aging parents. Keeping in Touch Solutions would like to be your go to person for balancing your responsibilities as a caregiver near or far. We will help stay in touch with your aging parents or grandparents by calling your loved one every day to check in and see if they are taking their medications.

Please let us know how we can help. Our email uskeepingintouchservices@gmail.com or call us at 1800-664-5541.

Diana Beam is an entrepreneur with a vision and a heart for the elderly. She has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, long term care administrator, home health care pioneer, senior real estate specialist and owner of Keeping in Touch Solutions. Her passion is to see working women and men with elderly p arents set free from guilt of not having time or proximity to their aging parents and helping the elderly with their aging needs and transition challenges. Diana lives in Indiana with her husband Ron and they have 3 grown children, 2 grandsons and a golden retriever named Hope and a calico cat named Ms Dottie. Grab her free report, 7 ways to provide maximum support to your parents, today.

Gratitude, Friendship and the Magic of Sharing

Questions came to mind: Will I still be here next Christmas? Could I walk and talk? Where will I be? What should I have done this year?
Sometimes it is the mindset of one who lives in regret and yet some are facing the truths of aging and health issues.

Christmas time gives many reminders about friendship, relationship and our connections.  When we send out cards and received cards from distant and close friends and relatives, they bring back memories of old relationships and friendships. It may be a time to renew old relationships with family and friends. Take time to forgive those who had hurt us or ask for forgiveness from those that we had intentionally or unintentionally hurt.

It could be a season where our aging parents might meet new acquaintances. Losing friends as they age is a common thing. Conversations of so-and-so are no longer here this year may remind you of the condition of your aging parent’s health and the limited time they have to spend Christmas with you.

Moments of sadness could be a new reality for you and your aging parents during this season of celebration.

Mother Teresa said, “Joy is prayer. Joy is strength. Joy is love. Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”

We can have the joy of Christmas and the New Year despite moments of sadness with prayer and sharing of love with our loved ones. Take pleasure in each other’s company and enjoy the moment. The sad thing is sometimes we let the present slip away because we focus on the past or the unknown.

Here are 3 steps to enjoy every moment with your aging parents and grandparents:
1.    Stop worrying about the future. If we are trapped into the past or the future and always looking forward instead of now, we will miss the moment. Take time to stay in the moment with great food, conversations and play games or create memories with photo sessions.
2.    Be alert of what is needed in the present by showing gratitude and ask for forgiveness if there are misunderstandings or hurt.
3.    Don’t expect perfections. There is no perfection in life. Instead of expecting everything to be perfect, let there be fun and joy when spending time with each other.

Keeping In Touch Solutions would like to wish you a Happy New Year 2012. As we move forward to a new year, let’s usher in a life of gratitude, forgiveness and love. Remember Mother Teresa’s verse on joy and Thank You for being our readers.

For more information on how we can assist you in Keeping In Touch with your aging parents, please leave us a comment or call us at 1800-664-5541. Take a moment to download our Free Report “7 Ways to provide Maximum HELP for your aging parents” at top right hand corner of this page.

Diana Beam is an entrepreneur with a vision and a heart for the elderly. She has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, long term care administrator, home health care pioneer, senior real estate specialist and owner of Keeping in Touch Solutions. Her passion is to see working women and men with elderly p arents set free from guilt of not having time or proximity to their aging parents and helping the elderly with their aging needs and transition challenges. Diana lives in Indiana with her husband Ron and they have 3 grown children, 2 grandsons and a golden retriever named Hope and a calico cat named Ms Dottie. Grab her free report, 7 ways to provide maximum support to your parents, today.

The holiday season is a time of creating memories and also re-creating childhood memories that have been passed down for generations. It is the time of the year for caroling, shopping, decorating, baking, cleaning and cooking. With so much to do, we are sometimes left with lots of stress to cope with.
Many busy moms and aging parents are looking for easy, fast, delicious ways to bake and share with friends and family. Of course we can grab them at a store to save time but nothing brings back memories like the warm baked cookies or desserts from grandma or mom’s kitchen.
As a busy momma and grandma myself for many years, I’ve created a number of easy and delicious meals to feed my clan. Here is one favorite dessert that I’ve been making for years. We call it Tommie’s Mothers Easy Cake.
Recipe:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray Bundt pan with cooking oil to prevent sticking.
Mix together
1 box of chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 can of cherry pie filling
Mix all ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Pour into sprayed Bundt pan and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted.
Remove from oven to cool and place pan upside down on your cake serving plate.
Decorate with your favorite frosting or sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and garnish with red raspberries.
Our secret tip: If you place a cool damp cloth on top of the pan it will help the cake to fall onto the plate.
Our favorite frosting: chocolate frosting
This chocolate cake will make you the superstar at a dessert party. This recipe will help you cut off all the hours of baking and spending lots of money on ingredients.
Now that you have the chocolate cake planned out…Here are tips to help you host a stress free holiday dessert party:
1.    Keep a simple guest list and send them a Christmas card with a special invitation to your dessert party.
2.    Invite your guests to bring a simple dessert of their choice with recipe to share with everyone
3.    Make sure they RSVP at least one week before the party
4.    Decide if you are using disposable utensils, cups, plates and napkins or your special Christmas tableware.
5.    Get your table ready with serving utensils and your guest’s goodies
6.    Set aside another table with favorite beverages
7.    Have the Christmas carols playing in the background
8.    Light up the candles
9.    Enjoy
After the party, you would have collected a few simple, easy to use holiday recipes for next year. You can compile all the recipes and make it into a booklet for your aging parents or grandparents. They would appreciate this simple homemade book.
Do you know of anyone who is home alone and a little bit lonely this holiday? They could use a bit of cheering up along with some TLC. It isn’t too late to give them the gift of a friendly call every day to be sure they are doing ok this holiday season…  take advantage of Keeping in Touch Solutions special offer of the first two week at no charge…. a thirty dollar value. Please let us know how we can help!

Diana Beam is an entrepreneur with a vision and a heart for the elderly. She has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, long term care administrator, home health care pioneer, senior real estate specialist and owner of Keeping in Touch Solutions. Her passion is to see working women and men with elderly p arents set free from guilt of not having time or proximity to their aging parents and helping the elderly with their aging needs and transition challenges. Diana lives in Indiana with her husband Ron and they have 3 grown children, 2 grandsons and a golden retriever named Hope and a calico cat named Ms Dottie. Grab her free report, 7 ways to provide maximum support to your parents, today.