Caring for the Elderly during the Holidays
Don’t Forget about Grandma and Grandpa in the rush of the holiday season!
This last weekend was a whirl wind of activity. We had 2 girls in a Basketball tournament (which means 8 games!) AND my son came down with a fever of 103 degrees.
In the busyness of life, I confess, we signed up for this Turkey Day Basketball Tournament WITHOUT considering how it would affect our elderly parents. Although we had no plans at the time of sign up to have our parents over, it hurt them deeply not to consider their 
.
My Mother in Law is now 86. She is becoming quite forgetful and lonely since her husband of more than 60 years passed away last year. She also lives quite far away. So when she comes to visit she usually spends a night or two.
Well this Thanksgiving we were just not available to have her over. She is too fragile to drag around to Basketball tournaments and all of the busyness that comes with that.
What were we thinking? Uh duh…we weren’t!
It appeared that Basketball was more important than Grandma! Of course this was not the case..or was it? I have that nagging feeling (the Holy Spirit of course) that if we had just stopped long enough to pray about this decision, we would have immediately known that people and there hearts are more important than non eternal things…like basketball…and we probably would have chosen to bow out of this tournament..no matter the lamenting from other players and parents and coaches
Now Thanksgiving is over and Grandma was not honored in our decision. So what will we do about it? Ask her forgiveness, not make the same mistake again AND beg her to come stay with us for Christmas!
If you do not have a Grandma or Grandpa you can minister to during the holiday season, look around your Church, Nursing home, local Senior Center or even your local Shelters.
People are more important than busyness!
We have many elderly neighbors, and I always encourage my children to visit them…they really love it!
Good for you Kristi! I try to do this too, although we don’t have as many elderly in our neighborhood since we moved. They do love it!
Blessings and thanks for stopping by 🙂
It sounds like God really opened up your heart to feel what others might be feeling. I have been working on doing this with my mom.
Yes God definately worked in my Heart regarding this! Always learning and growing :/ Thanks for stopping by!
Love the message that people are more important than busyness!
Stumbled 🙂
Hi Charise! Love your photo of you and your fam in window! So precious. Thanks for Stumbling!
Blessings!
I’m going to subscribe to your RSS feed so I always know when you have a new post :). Blessings!
That’s awesome Fawn! Thanks!
Blessings
Loved this, Shari! My grandparents spent Thanksgiving with us this year and it was so wonderful! I was thinking about how many memories they created for me as a kid and now I get the chance to make memories for them. I am so glad that you are calling attention to remembering grandparents at the holidays because, like you said, Christmas is coming! And I am sure that your mother in law was extremely touched by your thoughtfulness after the holiday was over and you sought to make her the priority for Christmas.
Hi Jamie! I’m so happy to hear that you had your Grandparents for Thanksgiving! What a blessing you are! Yes, my mother in law is happy about coming at Christmas 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings
Great post! One that reminds us of what is truly important. Thanks for sharing your mishap! It shows we are all human, make mistakes and that the next time we can always choose to make that “better” choice. I’m sure grandma feels loved and will enjoy Christmas with you. Blessings to you and your family!
Hi Kimberly! Thanks for stopping by! We will have a great Christmas and as much as my pride would like to hide the fact that I too am human (LOL :D) It’s just plain silly to deceive myself and others HA! Blessings to you!
It sounds like you have tried to correct the problem for Christmas so everyone can be together! People often forget about he elderly and how lonely they can be during the holidays. New follower from bloggy moms, look forward to your future posts! Stop by my blog when you get the chance 🙂
Hi Frugal in WV! So glad you stopped by! Yep we corrected the problem and Grandmas coming for Christmas..Yeah! I will definately stop by your blog..I love food!
Blessings to you!
So true, people do come first. Holidays are so busy, it is easy to forget sometimes. I lost my grandparents when I was young, and I am thankful my kids have all their grandparents nearby. I love the idea of “adopting” someone from a nursing home – I used to make cards for the nursing home each year when I was in high school. I’m thinking it would be a great Christmas project with my own little ones this year!
I think that’s so awesome that you made cards for the elderly in High School! You are so sweet OneMommy! Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings
Aw! what a lovely and thoughtful post, Shari.
It’s not often we read a post especially, on a faith filled blog, dedicated to the elderly.
I don’t have grandparents, but I am always sensitive to the needs of my elderly spiritual mothers in the church, and to their peers.
Too often, we can forget the feelings of the elderly, who do not always want to upset their families, or do not want to feel that they are a nuisance and they suffer in silence.
How sad!
LOL! – I chuckled when you said, ‘The Lord doesn’t let me get away with much these day’, as I surely know what you mean. We must all be in the same ‘class’ with the Holy Spirit!
Hi Carole! I know I don’t want to be forgotten when I’m “elderly” 🙁 I think we are most definately in the same “class” LOL Blessings to you!
Ditto, Shari!
That’s fantastic you even recognized their hurt feelings and desire to make it right. So many would just say, “Oh well, this is what we wanted to do and since we didn’t have plans at the time we made these plans, it’s fine.” But your desire to honor them will not allow you to make excuses and that’s admirable.
Hi Fawn, The Lord doesn’t let me get away with much these days. 😉 LOL!