About who needs care: Mom just turned 89. She was a musician; she loved travel; she taught & judged baton twirling and was active in church and community theatre. Her husband died during COVID. She uses a walker. She was still actively engaged with church and weekly music rehearsals until about 18 months ago. She has entered mild cognitive decline - her processing speed and short term memory is most affected. She's always been an introvert with physical sensitivities but I now realize she's also probably mildly autistic - claims she's content to not see anybody but me and my husband (with rare visit from my brother and my kid). She lives independently in a "cottage" in a community that has living situations for folks in all phases. My husband can usually visit once during the week and I usually get to town to visit 3 out of 4 weekends. We're looking for somebody who can come visit, do some light cleaning, take out the recycles, warm-up, cook and/or put some food in front of her once, maybe twice during the week. But it doesn't have to be for more than a couple hours. Ideally this person will engage her in conversation / social interactions that will stimulate her. I've had trouble getting her to go across the street to join community activities (we did go to a concert once)... but those kinds of opportunities do exist if we can find somebody who would make her feel comfortable going out a bit every now and then. About the care needs: Somebody with experience and/or knowledge of performing arts and travel would be ideal - she has travelled extensively throughout the United States and the rest of the world. She took lots of photos - I've been slowly trying to get her to sort through slides so we can print some to put in a photo album (or on a digital viewer... somebody with similar experiences or curiosity about travel might get her talking... Both of her parents were music teachers so stories about working with young people might also stimulate some interest. She played tenor saxophone as her primary interest. But also played clarinet and alto sax and string bass in pit orchestras for musicals. She arranged and directed the handbell choir at church. She sang in church choirs her entire life. I was surprised that I got her to work with me on a jigsaw puzzle with the person who visited her while I had to be out of town for a few months - but that person never successfully engaged her in that again. We can sometimes get her to sit on the front porch for a little bit and put some big band music on to listen to. We were taking her out to lunch every Saturday but she hasn't wanted to leave the house at all for at least 9 months She usually eats some yogurt in the morning. She often forgets to eat lunch - she grazes on a granola bar and Starbucks frappucino and a few other salty or sugary things through the afternoon. And then she'll warm-up a frozen meal for dinner and eat just half of that. She often doesn't notice the left-overs and/or particular foods I've purchased to make lunch easier.... but if I put something in front of her, she'll eat it. Her taste buds have changed to the point that making the recipes that she used to enjoy doesn't give her much pleasure anymore. She pretty much sits in a chair and reads close captions on tv all day. She is generally a late night person and very slow in the morning. She finds the energy (masking) it takes to interact with visitors exhausting - so a visit does not need to be long and filled with a ton of energy. Just another opportunity to interact with a fellow human. Services needed include: meal preparation, errands / shopping, light housekeeping, and companionship.
Companionship
Light Housekeeping
Meal Preparation
Errands / Shopping