Socializing and Interacting During COVID, with Daphne Davis

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

Time to get back to Sou’sad and more answers for elders and welcome back everyone’s answers for elder’s radio. And I’m here with Wonderful Daphne Davis from Pinnacle senior placements. And Daphne, I’m so glad you’re here with us for this hour. I’m got. I’m here too. This is always a pleasure for me to do each month that I get to talk to everybody I know and I hope you know each and every one of you. I Know Daphne and I talk a lot about about what’s going on in the world and and we’re you know, I’m speaking for you too, that whenever we come together it’s always nice to connect with our listeners. And you know, we get a lot of phone calls. I Know Daphne does, and I do too. Families are having challenges right now because their parents aren’t home and in many cases, I know I have a friend they haven’t seen their, you know, their loved one since mart somebody hasn’t, you know, been able to have contact. And then, you know, I get things saying, well, you know, mom or dad doesn’t don’t want me to come over because I work and I’m concerned and all these things. So, you know, we talked a little bit in our first segment definitely about, you know, the whole thing of, you know, senior living communities, which are amazing and they’re doing all kinds of incredible things. But we have a huge segment of our listener base right now but have seniors at home and they’re the most vulnerable and you know, you know the whole month of August traditionally is really about adaptive living. How do we adapt when we’re when we’re living in an independently and we now kind of have a whole new set of challenges in this world? So, you know, what are your words of wisdom for seniors that are still at home? You know, I think the most important thing for seniors at home to remember is that it is normal to feel like you want to be with people. We are social beings and if there is a way that you can creatively still talk to your neighbor or you see somebody walking down the street taking a loan and you know who they are, you know, I think it’s okay for you to go out, open your door and say hey, hi, I haven’t seen you in a while. I mean you’re thirty part or forty feet apart, you certainly can do that. I have seen a gone into some neighborhoods and I see people sitting in their front yards and their lawn chairs, all well more than six feet apart, all having masks, but they’re all still having some kind of connection. So I I want to encourage everybody to make use of the information that we have in terms of how do we safely interact with each other and to make think of those protocols that we know work. Again, just like we were talking in our first segment, some of these things we might feel kind of silly. They’re out of our norm. Who Sits in their front yard and a lawn chair with a mask? I mean it’s kind of silly, I mean, but but we have to do things that are not our norm because we don’t live in the norm. So a couple of other things. That I mean just with your neighbors is really important. I also am at the place and and I respect everyone’s personal decisions of how they have identified and named their risk levels. You know how much of a risk taker are you and what things are your highest values. Everyone’s highest values are very important and valid so I’m saying these things. I just want you to again hear me, hear my heart in terms of how do we stay connected healthy, not just physically but mentally and emotionally healthy, and how do we feel like we’re still a part of a bigger world than just our four walls of our house? And when something you know POPs in your head, and I’ve talked about this, you know throughout the summer, when you think of someone, stop what you’re doing and call them or fill up that card and send them a note. I mean, yes, do it. I cannot stress that enough. It is so important. I mean just pick up the phone and all I have to do is say hey, I thought of you. If this is a bad time, less connect again. I know I’m invading your space and dolarge the donuts, I know you’re going to hear. No, this is a perfect time. I thought of you. I you can, just didn’t let you know. So how things happen. They’re very simple things that I know I’m repeating myself, but I want you all to hear how important it is to stop what you’re doing. You’re peeling a potato, put it in some cold water and call that person. Yeah, get back to the POTADO. It’s not like any you have a crazy schedules right now. Yeah, and you said something really really I don’t want to pass over because you talked about neighbors. I think neighbors right now, this is a calling for people that are in neighborhoods, because so many of us, you know, we may have adult you know, we may have elder parents in and you know that are a long way away from us and we’re at a situation many case is where you can’t travel from state to state dudes needing to quarantine. You can’t do a lot of different types of things. But you know, to call on your neighbors, not only to if you if you’re somebody that is, you know, under sixty five and you know you may be a little bit more active and have the ability to go help and run errands for a senior or things like that. I know that on the next door APP that I have there’s a whole section on are you offering help for a senior? I’m also getting requests right now from people that I have a senior that has rheumatories write us that is cant afford a landscaper and she needs somebody to just do some heavy duty weading for her and I and I’m going like, do you have know anybody that you know she’s willing to pay fifteen dollars an hour that would be willing to go in weed a garden and things like that? This is where neighbors, if you think about you know, if you see a job as yours, if you walk by somebody that has a senior love you know, if you have seniors in your neighborhood, how can you step out of yourself somebody of us are home that get out there with your family or get out there with a couple other neighbors and, you know, mow their lawn, to help them with things that they might look at and just feel over wolmed about that could bring them some joy, prepare a meal, bake some cookies. There’s so many things that you can do as a neighbor that could be powerful. I know for me when I had my birthday, you know I’m sixty four, not quite in there, but I had three of my neighbors come to my house and one delivered me a cupcake, somebody else delivered me a little gift, somebody else delivered me a pat a bouquet of flowers and just put it on my doorstep, just saying that they love me, and that meant in the world to me that you know, as we are all are sitting here home down little things that we can do, just to think the extra step that if you’re in a neighborhood and if you’re in a scenario where you know, you know of a senior, how can you help? And that’s, I guess, something that I wanted to bring up. Yeah, now that’s very important. Against the intentionality we all think about the things, we all drive by our neighbor’s house and you know what, and if you don’t know your neighbors, now’s the time to do it. I mean just draw in the mailbox and have them get it the next day. Hey, I’m next door. Here’s a picture of me. I’d like to I’d like to just say hi you. You know, I love how going in your world. I saw that, you know, your your tulips needed to be cut down and I’d be happy to do that. I can I do that for you. You know, whatever it is, but to create new community, what a joy that’s for our culture. In the big picture, is watterfault. The other thing I want to bring up is people who are in their own homes sometimes can take risks that they don’t realize our risk because they’re just living life. And so if you are the son or daughter caregiver for someone that’s, you know, at home and you know may have just a little bit of cognition issues or or their feet aren’t getting picked up just quite high enough and might be, you know, a little tripping hazards, I encourage you to verbally talk about those things. I’m want to specifically say throw rugs. I think we need to be all stress safe and careful in our homes because we’re not able to at all of the support we need. So if you know that you’re you know, answer your neighbor, mom or dad, have throw rugs on the floor with humor, grace, love, kindness, silliness. Just say humor me, mom, could you just take the floor rugs up? I’m worried about your wand going caught on something. You know, and just have that conversation. or Yes, mom, I know that you know, you’ve been getting some you know, groceries that you call the cab and you go to the grocery store. Whatever could we entertain the idea of having them delivered to you. Oh honey, then I don’t get to go anywhere, I know, but maybe it’d be more fun to go just for a walk for the sake of a walk, or go for a drive for the sake of a drive, and not go through the hassle of buying groceries. You know, Amen things that how can, how can we make life easier? And how can I make life simpler? Well, and the beauty of right now, with grocery stores, you can actually order things online, you know, mom, let me help you with your grocery list, you know, and here’s what I’m going to do, is we’re going to put on our masks and I’m going to bring you to the store and all we’re going to do is go to the parking lot. They’re going to load your groceries in. I’ll take you home. But it gives you a wonderful opportunity to step out, you know, to do something with your loved one. As long as you’re wearing masks in the car, you’re probably okay, I’m saying, and and you’re having an opportunity to have a little you know, outing, pick up groceries and then bring them back, you know, home, and those are two some things that can happen if a senior loved one is at home. And I’ve learned, you know, myself. I’m loving this drive up and go stuff where you, you know, you order your groceries online. Everything’s there, you pull in the parking lot and Bingo, they bring them out to you, which is awesome. Yes, you know what, that’s a really good suggestion because it is very safe. I mean you, as the center daughter, can wipe down your car, you know, get the chlorine, wipe out, wipe down your car. Yes, you’re your mom or dad, are not going to get out of the car. That is a perfect example of safely having a little outing. You’re not, you know, to drive to even starbucks or, you know whatever, that’s the coffee shop, but you are spending time together. The good old fashioned vitamin D sunshine is getting on them. Yeah, and that’s a great suggestion. That’s a wonderful fil and not only that, you can go for like a Sunday drive or an afternoon, you know, drive out to look at the ocean, giving up and Mucle Po you know, we I love to go take a little drive out to the lighthouse, you know, where I can look out at the ocean and and see, you know, the last time I was there, as some sea lions. You know that we’re playing with each other out there and and there’s so many things that you can do with the senior just in this kind of the protected environment. And, like you said, to wipe the car down, make sure that you’re you’re using hand sanitizer, which I do, and then what I always do, as you know, I have my mask in the car and I take my hand saying Sanitizer, and then I rub my mask when I’m done with it, with the hand sanitizer before I hang it up, so I know that next time I use it it’s going to be, you know, a sanitize. It’s not going to be hanging out there. So those are some little tricks to the trade that I do and certainly can be helpful for families. I think picking up groceries is really fun thing to do. It’s an outing, it’s an adventure. Is something so bold and it’s safe. You know when they when you pull into the grocery, you know the lot, they will put it in the back of your car. I know I have an SUV and all I do is just that you can put it in the back you have no contact with these people. It’s a wonderful way in which to do those things. Yes, it is, yes, it is. Well, on the next segment we’re going to talk with Daphne a little bit about how can Daphne help families that are right now going through some transitions and we look forward to having you back in the next segment. So until then, Daphne will be right back