Magazine Posts

Long-distance caregivers are more common than you think. Generally speaking, it’s common for seniors to live in one part of the country while their families live and work elsewhere. Regardless of what keeps you apart, caregiving can actually be more than doable by remembering these few tips.

Technology is your friend.

Technology has made the world smaller in many ways. With a plethora of electronic gadgets and internet connectivity available these days, it’s now so much easier to connect with loved ones from afar, making tech an invaluable resource when it comes to long-distance caregiving. Many devices like tablets are senior-friendly with easy-to-use interfaces and features like larger screens. These gadgets can then be leveraged in many ways, such as using video chat to check in on your senior loved ones’ well-being or even attend their medical appointments virtually.

As a bonus, there are countless deals on tablets from trusted brands like Apple, Lenovo, and Samsung (to name a few), making them great investments that won’t put a huge dent on your own household budget.

The Senior List suggests loading your loved one’s phone or tablet with some senior-friendly apps, like Pandora, Zoom, The Weather Channel, and MediSafe Medication Reminder. Thanks to some easily accessible tech, your loved one will have support and entertainment at his or her fingertips.

Help is available for those who ask for it.

Probably the biggest challenge of being a long-distance caregiver is not being physically present to take care of tasks. However, there are, of course, ways around such a hiccup. In fact, the National Institute on Aging points out that there are countless professionals in any given area that provide a plethora of #local">services, ranging from house cleaning to meal deliveries and so much more.

While you may not be around to keep a close eye on them, you can also keep tabs on them through neighbors, friends and even
tracking devices like location tracking or medical alert systems.

It goes without saying that it’s more than prudent to take advantage of these resources. Not only will this ensure that all your loved ones’ needs are taken care of, but alleviate your worries as well.

Your time is the greatest gift.

Last but definitely not least, the best gift you can give your loved ones is a simple one, and that is your time. This can also be a challenge with your own minutiae of daily living. It’s important to check in on your loved ones with a phone or video call to make sure that they are safe, comfortable, and healthy. Even more important is routinely visiting in person, not only to check on current conditions but also to provide the comfort of your presence.

You can give the gift of time in other ways, as well. You already do so when you research services that benefit them and care facilities, as well as when you educate yourself on their conditions and, by extension, repercussions. Ditto when you take care of their bills, sit-in on medical appointments, and the like.

Indeed, caregiving for a senior loved one from afar will be hard. However, the main thing you can do is to improvise and leverage the right resources. So bear these tips in mind to provide the right kind and amount of loving care to your senior wards—without putting an undue burden on yourself, too.

Photo via Pexels.com

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Globular star cluster Omega Centauri, also known as NGC 5139, is some 15,000 light-years away. The cluster is packed with about 10 million stars much older than the Sun within a volume about 150 light-years in diameter. It's the largest and brightest of 200 or so known globular clusters that roam the halo of our Milky Way galaxy. Though most star clusters consist of stars with the same age and composition, the enigmatic Omega Cen exhibits the presence of different stellar populations with a spread of ages and chemical abundances. In fact, Omega Cen may be the remnant core of a small galaxy merging with the Milky Way. Omega Centauri's red giant stars (with a yellowish hue) are easy to pick out in this sharp, color telescopic view.

Photo by Ignacio Diaz Bobillo

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What's going on near the center of our galaxy? To help find out, a newly detailed panorama has been composed that explores regions just above and below the galactic plane in radio and X-ray light. X-ray light taken by the orbiting Chandra Observatory is shown in orange (hot), green (hotter), and purple (hottest) and superposed with a highly detailed image in radio waves, shown in gray, acquired by the MeerKAT array. Interactions are numerous and complex. Galactic beasts such as expanding supernova remnants, hot winds from newly formed stars, unusually strong and colliding magnetic fields, and a central supermassive black hole are all battling in a space only 1000 light years across. Thin bright stripes appear to result from twisting and newly connecting magnetic fields in colliding regions, creating an energetic type of inner galactic space weather with similarities to that created by our Sun. Continued observations and study hold promise to not only shed more light on the history and evolution of our own galaxy -- but all galaxies.

"Aside from basic needs, your financial priorities are up to you. Resist short-termism by keeping in mind your values and goals....... Continue reading

A fish out of water,
not close to the Sea,
not what I asked for,
it is what it will be,
to work hard for family,
in this The land of the Free.

There is nothing like
writing poetry and prose,
to describe all the beauty,
as seen in a Rose.

Are sins of our Fathers
our sins too?
Are we responsible for
acts we never would do?
How can you be accountable,
if you were a child?
Yet here we are now,
accepting all the guilt,
which our Fathers avow.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What are those streaks across Orion? They are reflections of sunlight from numerous Earth-orbiting satellites. Appearing by eye as a series of successive points floating across a twilight sky, the increasing number of communications satellites, including SpaceX Starlink satellites, are causing concern among many astronomers. On the positive side, Starlink and similar constellations make the post-sunset sky more dynamic, satellite-based global communications faster, and help provide digital services to currently underserved rural areas. On the negative side, though, these low Earth-orbit satellites make some deep astronomical imaging programs more difficult, in particular observing programs that need images taken just after sunset and just before dawn. Planned future satellite arrays that function in higher orbits may impact investigations of the deep universe planned for large ground-based telescopes at any time during the night. The streaks across Orion are not from Starlink but rather satellites in high geosynchronous orbit. The featured picture, taken in 2019 December, is a digital combination of over 65 3-minutes exposures, with some images taken to highlight the background Orion Nebula, while others to feature the passing satellites. SatCon2 Wokshop 12-16 July 2021: Mitigating Satellite Constellations

Moisture wets the lid of my eye,
as I resist the urge to not cry.
Seeing her before me, a smiling face,
with all of her beauty and natural grace.
I must keep her close; close to me,
for my need is her safety I must see.
Long have I loved you; every day
is a new one and I will say
I love you in my own way.

Want not of life
which you may not deserve.
Take care of others.
All whom you now serve.

Be a good soldier,
the thoughts in my head
as you stay the course,
for what lies ahead.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Whatever hit Mimas nearly destroyed it. What remains is one of the largest impact craters on one of Saturn's smallest round moons. Analysis indicates that a slightly larger impact would have destroyed Mimas entirely. The huge crater, named Herschel after the 1789 discoverer of Mimas, Sir William Herschel, spans about 130 kilometers and is featured here. Mimas' low mass produces a surface gravity just strong enough to create a spherical body but weak enough to allow such relatively large surface features. Mimas is made of mostly water ice with a smattering of rock - so it is accurately described as a big dirty snowball. The featured image was taken during the closest-ever flyby of the robot spacecraft Cassini past Mimas in 2010 while in orbit around Saturn. Interactive: Take a trek across Mimas

Photo by NASAJPL-CaltechSpace Science InstituteCassini

In 2021 we also honor all who lost their lives to the CoronaVirus epidemic