Mom says she needs something to do. Recently I moved downstairs and mom feels "lonely" and needs something to do. She reads (limited authors) and watches TV but has problems with the TV remote and remembering how to get her programs on.
I have asked her to write letters to her grand children and she has said that is too tough. She likes to fold laundry. Not very crafty and cooking is out of the question.
Ideas???
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Maybe people need people, a half hour gossip on anything about relatives, news etc can be wonderful and then they can go back to their lives listening to music or mundane TV serials.
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Decoupage is very very simple and she could do that it requires minimal effort but the effect is lovely. Mum hasn't cottoned on yet that we don't need to do this but I buy the very cheapest tissues and she decoupages the boxes before I use them. It isn't at all crafty honest even if it sounds it - its just tissue and glue.
Mum also cuts the pictures out from past cards and I use them on new cards to make some home made ones - then she splats glue everywhere and dusts them with glitter. If you are going to do this make sure you have plastic down..... that bloody glitter gets everywhere!
Give her some body cream and get her to massage her arms and if she can her legs. If she like folding laundry then just give her a whole pile of towels and ask her to fold them for you. Chances are she will do that at least once a day.
The radio will be something she is familiar with from her youth so try and find a station that plays older music. Videos are a good idea as long as you start them. Mum likes musicals best and the old ones - Gene Kelly Fred Astaire bing Crosby Frank Sinatra type.
You could get all the photos you have and ask her to put them in an album for you - it doesn't matter about the order you can sort that later and you would have something to talk about. In actual fact it was only through looking at very old photos I found out bits and pieces about the family - some good some not so much.
I know she has mobility issues, but if you could get her to a center even one day per week, it might be helpful to her mood. From my experience, having a person lead the activity is crucial. When there is mental decline due to age or dementia. the person often isn't equipped to be a self starter with activities. They often need leadership and direction to benefit from the activity. Or course, it depends on their ability level. Would she be able to turn on audio stories?
Would she be safe with plastic child's scissors? Would she like to cut pretty things out magazines and tape them into an album?
I stuck it in a little book I made for my mom with instructions on how to do things. Now if she only could remember that book exists, LOL.
I'd also put paper/tape over anything she doesn't need to get her programs so they're not distracting. Could she do check-ins with fellow seniors to make sure they're OK (if she likes to talk/listen on the phone). Some volunteer programs have daily check-ins.
What did she enjoy doing when she was younger? Are there any ways those activities can be adapted to her limitations now?
Since she enjoys folding laundry, you do give her a bit of laundry to fold every day; just hold some of it off for the next day so you don't have to do laundry more frequently. If towels get wrinkled it won't hurt anything. Perhaps you could prioritize - stuff that gets wrinkled easily can be done one night, stuff that wrinkles less easily the next night, and things that don't wrinkle the next few nights.
Does she enjoy listening to music? Could you write out instructions for using a CD player?