Authored by BlueAngel on
Thursday, July 01, 2004
July 1st issue of the Eldercare Matters Newsletter just arrived and am placing it on the "Blog" It is quite lengthy but has an interesting way of presenting a method to organizing your daily work and activities.
Enjoy.
Eldercare Matters - July 1, 2004
Eldercare Matters
The newsletter for all elder caregivers.
Sent twice a month, and only by request.
Please feel free to pass on Eldercare Matters
to those in your network.
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
You are receiving this email newsletter because you
asked to receive it. If you've changed your mind, or
if you want to leave us for any reason at all, you can
remove your name below.
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
Note To AOL Members: With AOL 9.0, you have to permit
mail or your newsletter will be placed in your bulk sender or
unknown sender list. Please add Molly Shomer@eldercareteam.com
to your "people I know" list so that you will be sure to receive
every issue of this newsletter.
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
>>>Hi...Gotta Run...I Can't Stop Now...<<<
It's the 4th of July weekend so we're going on a little getaway
today. Join me as we travel to the airport and fly a little airline
I know for a couple of days' rest and relaxation.
When we enter the terminal, John the ticket-taker checks our
documents and waves us cheerily on to security. As we nudge
our bags through, John whips off his ticket-taker hat, runs around
the machine, and proceeds to check us for nasty stuff. We pass
through and head for the gate.
Amazed, we watch as John leaves the baggage scan machine
and sprints around us down the concourse and out onto the
tarmac. Through the window we see him strap on a tool belt
and scramble aboard the waiting plane, wrench in hand.
Our wait is quite pleasant, because we seem to be the only ones
in the terminal. Taking a peek outside, we see quite a crowd
building, apparently waiting for a ticket-taker. There's no one
at the baggage-check, either.
Just then, we watch in awe as John tumbles down from the plane,
back through the terminal, and out to take a few more tickets.
He has to wand someone at the x-ray machine, so things back
up again. He's starting to look a little winded.
After too many sprints to count - out to the plane and back -
a full load of passengers has finally assembled in our waiting area.
We gaze out the window as John drives up with a load of
checked baggage, which he proceeds to load on the baggage
conveyor. While the bags are running up the conveyor, John
disappears. He returns driving the meal truck. Meals wobble
up the conveyor behind the bags.
When all is finally loaded, John staggers back into the terminal
in a fresh cap. He picks up the microphone and gives us all
boarding instructions. It takes a while, but eventually everyone
is belted in.
We watch in amazement as John closes the door of the plane,
pants through the mandatory emergency instructions, and locks
himself in the cockpit. The plane backs slowly out of the
concourse, and we're finally on our way.
It's taken just shy of a week and a half to get the plane in the air.
John looked a little ragged around the edges when we last saw
him. But by golly he did it all by himself.
* * *
John is so busy working "at" running his little airline, he doesn't
have time to work "on" his airline.
He's convinced he doesn't have time to stop and find someone
to take over the mundane chores. It would take too long to find
someone. He doesn't have time. It would take too long to train
someone. He doesn't have time. And besides, no one else would
ever care about his little airline as much as he does, so he has to
do it all.
With the right organization and some help, he could have had
hundreds of planes in the air in the time it took him to get one
underway - and I'm not so sure he'll live long enough to land
at the other end.
Could John do anything better and more efficiently? Of course.
* * *
Are you John? Are you trying to do it all?
This is dangerous business.
Why?
Because you've set yourself up to fail. You've set it up so
everything depends on you, and you know you can't do it all.
* * *
There's hope, or I wouldn't have bothered to tell you about John.
He wears me out.
Go find three sheets of paper and a pen. I'll wait. . .
Now, tear off three sheets.
Make your to-do lists. Label one sheet for things that have to
be done daily, write one for weekly, and one for monthly.
Leave off anything that has to do with your work-for-money
job.
Be thorough - don't leave anything else out.
Here's the fascinating part. Change your headings from "TO
DO" to "TO DELEGATE."
That's it.
Have you delegated everything to yourself? Now you know
where to start.
In fact, when you really think about it, NOTHING on your
list HAS to be done by you. What counts is that it gets done,
regardless of who does it.
Start slowly - pick one thing. Delegate it.
Delegate, and you're saving time and energy.
Delegate, and you're building your support team.
Delegate, and you might be able to work "ON" having a life,
instead of just "AT" caregiving.
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
It is the quality of our work which will please God and not
the quantity.
Mahatma Gandhi
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
>>>What's For Dinner?<<<
We all know a healthful diet includes a variety of foods. Some
foods can even help reduce the risk of illness. But for seniors,
certain foods can be risky because of the level of bacteria that
can be present when the food is raw or undercooked.
Older people have immune systems that may be less efficient
than when they were younger. They are often more susceptible
to getting severely ill from food-borne bacteria.
As a general rule, and especially when you're not sure how the
food was prepared, or how clean the kitchen might be (!)
seniors should avoid these products:
a. Raw fin fish and shellfish, including oysters, clams, mussels,
and scallops.
b. Raw or unpasteurized milk or cheese.
c. Soft cheeses such as feta, Brie, Camembert, blue-veined,
and Mexican-style cheese. (Hard cheeses, processed cheeses,
cream cheese, cottage cheese, or yogurt are usually OK if they
haven't been sitting out in a warm room)
d. Raw or lightly cooked egg or egg products including salad
dressings, cookie or cake batter, sauces, and beverages such
as egg nog. Watch the Caesar dressing if it's made with raw eggs.
Don't go sampling the uncooked cookie dough.
e. Raw meat or poultry.
f. Raw alfalfa sprouts, which have only recently emerged
as a recognized source of foodborne illness. I subscribe to an
FDA alert that comes out weekly. In the most recent issue
several brands of contaminated alfalfa sprouts were mentioned:
Fuji Natural Foods Alfalfa Sprouts (4-oz. cups, 2-lb. and
5-lb.trays), Spicy Sprouts (4-oz. cups), and Zesty Sprouts
(4-oz. cups)
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/fuji06_04.html
Down to Earth Alfalfa and Spicy Mix Sprouts (4-oz. and 1-lb.
packages)
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/downtoearth06_04.html
Perfect Sprouts Brand Green Sprout Mix (4 oz.), Zesty Sprout
Mix (4 oz.), and Alfalfa Sprouts (5-oz., 1-lb., 2-lb. and 3-lb.
packages)
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/perfect06_04.html
Northland Soy Products Alfalfa Sprouts (3.5-oz. and 1-lb.
packages)
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/northland06_04.html
Rainbow Garden Kauai Alfalfa Sprouts (4-oz. and 1-lb.
packages)
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/kauai06_04.html
g. Unpasteurized or untreated fruit or vegetable juice. When
fruits and vegetables are made into fresh-squeezed juice,
harmful bacteria that may be on the skin can become part of the
finished product. Most juice in the US is pasteurized or otherwise
treated to kill harmful bacteria. To help you identify unpasteurized
or untreated juices, the Food and Drug Administration is requiring
a warning label on these products. The label says:
WARNING:
This product has not been pasteurized and therefore may contain
harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the
elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.
So, eat what you enjoy, and enjoy what you eat, but don't take
chances and pay particular attention to what your older loved
ones are eating. 'Specially now, when it's getting warm out and
we're more likely to grab something raw on the run.
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
Don't be afraid to take a big step. You can't cross a chasm in
two small jumps.
David Lloyd George
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
OK friends, I suggest we all fly away for the 4th (with
someone other than John) for a nice picnic on the beach.
We'll eat cooked oysters, hard-boiled eggs and well-baked
cookies. We'll skip the sprouts this time. We'll wash it all
down with some cool pasteurized milk and juice. Or maybe
a beer or two or a glass of wine, if you're so inclined.
We'll slather on the sunscreen so we don't get crisped, and
we'll DEET ourselves up good so the skeeters don't carry us
away (Hey, I live in Dallas. It's been raining for weeks and
the skeeters are the size of helicopters!).
We'll all have a marvellous time watching the kids in the water
and the fireworks in the air.
We'll remember to fly the flag, too.
Have a great one! See you next time,
Best regards,
Molly
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
Attention: spammers are trying to get people to open emails
with viruses by pretending the email is from a name you would
recognize and trust. If you receive an email from me with an
attachment, please know that I did not send it and it is probably
a virus. Do NOT OPEN IT. If you receive an attachment
from me and are not sure, please email me before opening it to
find out if it is legitimate. Chances are pretty good that it isn't.
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
Molly Shomer
Head Coach
The Eldercare Team
http://www.eldercareteam.com
mshomer@eldercareteam.com
Box 700291
Dallas, TX 75370
(972) 395-7823
-----------------------<<< >>>------------------------
© 2004 Molly Shomer, All rights reserved. You are free to
use material from Eldercare Matters as long as you include
complete attribution, including live web site link and email
link. I would appreciate it if you would let me know where
the material will appear.
To subscribe, send a blank email to
eldermatters@aweber.com
Box 700291
Dallas, TX 75370
To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:
http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?TAyMjCxstMysHKxMjAwc
DeleteReplyForwardSpam Move...
Previous | Next | Back to Messages Save Message Text
Read Comments »