Category: Healthy Living

COVID 19, Goal Setting, Healthy Living, Top Lists

Top 2020 Changes 😎 We Made Due to COVID

I have heard so much said about this year. 2020 has really kicked us in the keester. Never have I said “this is unreal, surreal” so many times before this year. That is saying a lot since I, myself have had cancer, lost a child and my father. That all being said I will say it again. There is literally nothing about this year that is normal.

Maybe that is the one great thing to remember about 2020. Can you name all of the “new” things you have done this year that has never happened before. What about all of the things you completely stopped doing? Here is a short list below. Feel free to go to our Facebook and Instagram Page and include your own 2020 firsts.

  1. The gas I saved. (Literally 100’s of dollars saved)
  2. The calls I made.
  3. Zoom (need I say more)
  4. Grocery Shopping as an event (since there wasn’t anything else to do)
  5. Grocery Shopping Pick-Up (Okay I had embraced this in 2019 but most of you started it this year)
  6. Stopped eating out (Like I relearned how to pack my own lunch. Which is both an art form and a healthy option. Not to mention the money I saved)
  7. Learned how to teach my kids. (Which for me was a low point, but hey we did it)
  8. Cleaned (Like nooks, crannies and boxes were sorted)
  9. Donated the old (I know I wasn’t alone because the donation lines went on for days)
  10. Movie night nearly every day. (We even got into watching movies in other languages)
  11. Learning apps (language, meditation, yoga, motivational – you name it, we did it)
  12. Alternatives to TP (Our house managed to stock up right before the crazy started, but it was luck)
Healthy Living, Legacy Living, local outings, Uncategorized

Coffee/Tea Spots Near CayCare for the Girls

CayCare picked some of our favorite coffee hotspots to laugh with the girls. Check them out below. Looking forward to seeing you there with my own girls. Aging never looked better on us!

  1. Electric Coffee House – 905 Main St, Sumner, WA, 98390 @electriccoffeehouse
  2. British Bites – 720 East Main, Puyallup, WA, 98372 @british_bites
  3. Craft 19 Coffee – 1201 Main St, Sumner, WA, 98390 @craft19coffee

Please weigh in on Facebook or Instagram your favorite place and make sure to tag that company! We want to share the love with local businesses when giggling. 😊

Healthy Living, Legacy Living, local outings, Uncategorized

Age Friendly Places to Go in Puyallup checked out by a Nurse and Her Mom

My name is Lisa. I am a nurse, the founder of CayCare, wife, mom and in this article the first role I ever played, daughter. Join my mother as she enters her mid eighties with a smile. We have spent many a week end figuring out what a senior can do with family or friends around here. While not every place is perfectly fit for seniors we still made it fun to visit.

This month’s adventures include the following places. I will tell you that many of these may well fit in the blooper category but we left every single one of them with a smile. I learned that wheel chair ramps do not have to be as close to an entrance as you think. I learned that sometimes you have to act like you are parking a getaway car to pick up your over 80 year old parent in the wind and rain.

DISLCAIMER – The following information about local outing locations doesn’t negatively reflect their service or overall community rating. This information is to provide those of us who have seniors in our midst and/or those with senior impairments (hearing loss, vision loss, inability to move as quick as a non-senior) an idea of the potential challenges taking their loved one to these locations may pose.

Longston Regal Cinema – With reclining chairs, reserved seating and the ability to pay without standing in too long of a line (mostly because we all use Netflix now and don’t go to the theatre) made the cinema a great place to be.

  • Amount of Noise – 3 (turn the hearing aids down people or your ears will explode to the varying screen sounds.)
  • Lighting for safety in building- 4
  • Handicapped Parking – 4
  • Easy Reading – 4 (Times/Signs were pretty easy, rotating vending screens a bit of a challenge to follow)
  • Decision Making Time – 5 (You didn’t have to wait in line until you knew what you were going to get)
    Total Score Average – 4.0 Senior Friendliness

Forever Sushi – You feeling lonely and just needing other humans around, this is the place for you! They greet every guest who enters and give you that welcome to our family feel. I love places like this that can help a senior out who doesn’t have others. While I do not rate age friendly on prices this place would fit in the modest budget household as well. You can get a plate of food for under $5.00, although who can stop at one plate has my prize for the self control. This has become mom’s and my favorite quick hot spot for a meal. Did I mention my 9 and 10 year old love it here too. If you haven’t been introduced to interactive piggy banks and hi-chews this is the place for you

  • Amount of Noise – 4 (You can hear yourself think but there is a TV going and interaction.)
  • Lighting in the building – 4.5
  • Handicapped Parking – 3 (While this location has handicapped right in front, it is a busy area. I haven’t had luck about 50% of the time finding parking. This is the place we treat my mom like she is the queen of England and pull right up with lights flashing on an “off” day to drop her off. Otherwise this one you need to have a senior who can walk.)
  • Easy Reading – 4.5 (I mean technically you don’t need to read to go here. The plates are color coordinated. The senior may need instructions to get going but then dive right in or grab the plate.)
  • Decision Making Time – 4.5 (This one could be debated. If you don’t make a decision as the choice comes around you have to wait until it completes the full circle. My mother and I went back and forth on this but ultimately decided that the time it took to go full circle not only allowed the time but sometimes the proper digestion.)
    Total Score Average – 4.1 Senior Friendliness

Charlie’s Restaurant– My mother and I checked this place out a while back. This is a known place for seniors. I love the salad bar and that it is a locally owned business. Lisa’s mom goes by Jane if you meet her on the street.

  • Amount of Noise – 4.5
  • Lighting in the building – 4.5
  • Handicapped Parking – 3.5 (Parking is a bit of a challenge but there is some to navigate)
  • Easy Reading – 4.5 (Menu was easy to read.)
  • Decision Making Time – 4.5 (They were super patient as we took our time looking at the menu.
    Total Score Average – 4.3 Senior Friendliness

Jane, AKA my mom has let her daughter rope her in to this adventure and we are sharing our story with you. Please let us know of a location to check out and rate for senior friendly/aging friendly adventures.

Coming up next, Exploring the Cities around Western Washington. If you would like to subscribe to upcoming blog posts be sure to sign up for our newsletter or email us at contact@caycare.com

Healthy Living, Legacy Living, Uncategorized

Making Friends After 80

How to Make Friends Over 80
I have seen how difficult it is to make friends up close and personal with many of my clients who are over 80. Making friends after 80 isn’t as easy as it may seem. Sure, they do not work and there are many senior friendly locations they can go. The truth is that many of the lonely ones are the ones that didn’t easily make friends when they were younger and really could benefit from them now. If they didn’t practice that socializing muscle in their youth finding the ability to do it over 80 is scary.
I spend a lot of time talking to seniors who report feeling lonely. They tell me that putting themselves out there has been difficult. They feel awkward and often have given up. So how do you teach the proverbial old dog new tricks? Well the tricks are not new but the old dog using them hasn’t had to do it. Let’s practice a few of them now.

Tricks –
1. Can you recall going to Kindergarten? The best book I recommend for a senior to learn to make friends is from the book, All I Ever Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Making friends is as easy as offering a cookie and some conversation.
2. Another great tip I recently learned from an active senior that was lonely, make a business card with your contact information. This will make it easier to introduce to complete strangers and helpful in making a connection.
3. Pay attention to other people’s needs. When you are lonely it is easy to get self-absorbed. With a little effort you may notice others sitting alone or doing something you would have in common. I can guarantee you that you are not the only one feeling alone. Take a chance by watching and approaching with caution.
4. Smile. The best way to allow someone in is simply opening yourself up to the opportunity. The first place to start is by smiling. This allows you to be approachable. You will feel better by the simple act as well. And you may not make a friend the moment you smile but you most certainly will not make an enemy.
5. Search for activities you genuinely like. You do not have to go to just 80 plus activities either.
a. I have learned that an 85 year old active skier still goes to the slopes to visit with others who love this sport as much as he does. People know his name around the hill and go out of their way to say hello and match him with others who are needing tips.
b. A former 90 year old school teacher decided to hang out at an activity center where people often read books. She would bring many that she had already read and offer them out. Many people, myself included benefited from her kindness.
c. A 97 year old female who had recently learned about texting on a smart phone hung out at the local senior center and walked her peers through texting.

Healthy Living, Legacy Living, Uncategorized

Local Restaurants that Are Senior Friendly

Local Restaurants that Will Turn a Senior’s Head

Seniors have done a lot to help make this world a better place. They deserve to be spoiled. I have learned that seniors are not always able to tolerate large spaces and lots of noises due to the natural aging changes that occur. So, if you want to turn a senior’s head think about the surroundings in the outing to consider their specific needs.

A great example of this is my mother in law. She is hard of hearing. If I were to pick a coffee shop to take her, I should consider the background noise and the ability of the shop to provide true conversation with her. I can mostly think of locations that will not work for her due to background music and poor absorption of noise. Legendary Doughnuts in Orting has a great back room where I could carry on a great conversation with her while sipping a latte and splurging on a maple bar the size of my shoe.

If I want to take her out for a meal I would avoid the popular locations that have lots of noise as she would turn off her hearing aid and conversation would be frustrating. While my mother is not hard of hearing, she too gets more distracted if there is a lot of noise and even lighting I have noticed can be difficult. I love having a nice lunch at British Bites in Puyallup to enjoy some quality motherly bonding. What makes it so nice is simplistic design, and adequate lighting. This reduces distractions and makes the seniors in my life so happy. Let’s face it after 40 I could use the less distractions for deep conversation myself. I deem the 2 locations I mention so far as Senior Friendly.

Let’s say there is an outing you really want to do with the senior in your life. Here are a few places I would recommend you dive in to seeing with that senior.

While doing the research for this article I will tell you that I had to think of the times I have senior my own elder mother laugh. I bought bubbles and we blew them on a sunny day on the Tacoma Waterfront. She loved it. We were able to ride the Seattle Ferris Wheel and I will say that as long as the line wasn’t too long (avoid week ends) then she enjoyed the simple ride. Parking for a senior that can’t walk well wouldn’t love it but they are currently renovating down there so hopefully senior friendly parking will pop up. Because a ferris wheel ride should bring most seniors back to their childhood memories. Below are some other options I tested with my own seniors and came out smiling.

  1. Legendary Doughnuts – Orting, WA
  2. British Bites – Puyallup, WA
  3. Daffodil Bowling Alley’s Restaurant – Puyallup, WA

What makes a location senior friendly? I am so glad you asked.

  1. Good lighting. Not too bright but not too dim. Vision for a senior is already impaired just from aging and the reduced function of the rods/cones in the eyes. The lighting is essential to make a location “senior friendly”.
  2. Noise control. Hearing tends to reduce as we age either from damage or normal signs of aging. So limited background noise allows a location to be senior friendly.
  3. Easy accessibility. If there are narrow walkways or steps then senior friendly a location is not.
  4. Patience when ordering. Whether is waiting in a line or ordering a location, it is only considered senior friendly in my book if they accommodate the wait. Seniors need more time to process menus and/or read instructions. The senior needs to have the time to adequately review instructions or menus. Meaning , you better be patient if you want my rating.
  5. Parking. The parking needs to be close by and there needs to be enough relative to the location that a senior is able to access even when busy. I am pleased to announce several locations scored well in this arena but then failed in most other criteria. Our seniors need to be able to park close enough that they aren’t worn out once they walk in a location. The smartest way to eliminate this as an issue is have >80 parking spots aside from handicapped. I love this idea but it hasn’t caught on. If you know of a place honoring our seniors in this way please share with me and I will be glad to share with the readers.