Trust me, elder craft is
anything but as fuddy duddy as it might sound. It's my first foray into
actually DOING something to help families & friends have a ball
with older loved ones & friends.
Hmmm.... Working on ways
to give families & friends creative ways to connect in enriching
& rewarding ways with their olders. What a fun project!
Perhaps
THE greatest challenge in working with the aged - especially ones who
are, by necessity, in a senior care residence - is getting them past a
deadening sense of having little to no purpose.
My inner elder care anarchist cries out to move beyond
painting & other traditional forms to find ways
that we can work with olders to craft new views & fresh perspectives. Not all drenched in sunshine & rainbows, but a grounded look
at where they are, what are their interests & loves, what is their
purpose in this present moment.
Impossible
to convey the excitement that's building in my heart soul spirit as
this project latches more & more onto my imagination &
energies. Have pondered for a couple years about doing something that
encourages an expansive older age, to do it in ways that can be easily
shared with youngers, in ways that gets youngers involved & more
strongly connected to aging loved ones.
For
whatever reason, my mind goes back to when my American niece & her
husband brought their 3-year old & baby daughter over to our house
for a visit. They were used to visits with Mom, which always revolved
around some sort of foodie spread. I wanted something different,
something that forged a different sort of connection. When the four of
them arrived, I'd set up the island as a craft station. My niece was a
bit thrown - wasn't it expecting more of my great-niece than the 3-year
old could deliver? I didn't think so. The projects were actually very
simple, they just had snazzy results. The things that would have been
complicated - like decorating snowflake cookies - were a snap because
the prep work (including baking the cookies) had been done ahead of
time.
Campbell
did a beautiful job decorating the cookies, which we tied up for giving
in cellophane bags with ribbons that she selected from my collection.
We shaved dark chocolate & added it to cocoa mix, which we then
layered in a baby jar with mini marshmallows, sealed it with a lid that
she decorated & added the label Campbell's Snowman Soup.
I don't remember the 3rd craft, but I will never forget the looks of
delight on her parents faces watching their little girl & older aunt
having great fun or the glee in my brother's voice when he called to
say, "Wow!" Today, Campbell is a "tween" & far off in Melbourne,
Australia. But our time together all those years ago is still fresh in
my mind.
We crafted a connection along with gifts. We both expanded because of that short hour on a December afternoon.
The
dynamics that made that such a joyful, enriching occasion are also
present in the best creative opportunities with our olders - keep it
simple, keep it short, keep it meaningful. Families & friends want
ways to connect and older people need ways to... feel more.
Creativity
projects - ones that leave everyone feeling GREAT, like Campbell &
her parents & me. An idea whose time has come!!
