Mothers Day Archives ⋆ Cathy Cress

7 Tips For Feuding Midlife Siblings on Mother’s Day

April 26, 2020

Share ZOOM Without Daggers

Celebrations like Mother’s Day, (today) Hanukah, Christmas, and Father’s Day- (coming up)– any holiday— can be a nightmare with adult siblings and the dysfunctional family. They have to show up, yet they prepare for the daggers – either wielded by them or a fellow sibling.

Here are 7 tips to suggest adult sibling’s clients follow on holidays like Mother’s Day.:

1) It is a holiday event, not a family meeting. If you want to talk about personal issues, make a date to get together with your angry sister/brother.

2) Remember that it is Mother’s Day and not all about you. Keep a positive attitude for the sake of your aging parent if they are there, your own kids your nieces and nephews, and your adult siblings.

4) Call ahead as a team effort to arrange a time limit if using zoom for everyone to talk like 5 minutes. Call every family member. Do not exclude. Again to build a team effort.

5) Call ahead and arrange to split the bill a gift you send – ahead of time- again team effort and no embarrassing credit card bargaining afterward that only brings on more fights.

6) Keep your alcohol in check on the zoom call. You can’t control anyone else but you can control and even change yourself. We all say things we may regret with lots of nervous drinking.

7)If you are a professional working with midlife siblings caring for elders check out Care Managers Working With The Aging families and the Chapter about Siblings

9 Mother’s Day Gifts for Mid Life Siblings to Maintain Truce

April 27, 2019

Here are 9 tips to suggest adult sibling’s clients follow on holidays like Mother’s Day.: Celebrations like Mother’s Day, May 12, 2019. Any holiday— can be a nightmare with adult siblings and the dysfunctional family. They have to show up, yet they prepare for the daggers – either wielded by them or a fellow sibling. If you have a e-newsletter you can add this for your May issue

1) It is a holiday event, not a family meeting. If you want to talk about personal issues, make a date to get together with your angry sister/brother.

2) Remember that it is Mother’s Day and not all about you. Keep a positive attitude for the sake of your aging parent if they are there, your own kids your nieces and nephews and your adult siblings.

4) Call ahead as a team effort to arrange the sharing of the food for the meal, if it is at someone’s home. Call every family member. Do not exclude. Again, to build a team effort.

5) Call ahead and arrange to split the bill if at a restaurant – ahead of time- again team effort and no embarrassing credit card bargaining at the table that only brings on more fights.

6) Keep your alcohol in check. You can’t control anyone else but you can control and even change yourself. We all say things we may regret with lots of nervous drinking.

7)If you work with midlife siblings caring for elders – Check out “Working With Aging Siblings” in Care Managers Working With the Aging Family

8) Get one card from all and have each sibling sign it. On Mother’s Day the best gift you could give is that message that you are a team of her children and you all love each other than and especially her.

9) Get one gift from everyone and talk about it. It could be a tech gift that one of you or more than one can help her learn

10 Easy Gift Ideas for Grandma On Mother’s Day

May 11, 2013

10 Gift Ideas for Grandma On Mother’s Day- Most cheap , priceless and fast. You have one day left

I am an expert as I have 10 grandchildren from 27 to twin boys just 2. I would love any and all of these items.

1) Get adult siblings together to send her on a trip- big or small. It could be with a community group (Life Long Learners) to local museums or gardens. A bigger one might be with Road Scholar. Just make the call today and write the gift on your card. Simple.

2) )Trip gear like rolling luggage or multiple medication medisets to take along. At, 68 I travel all the time.So do most Grandmas.

3) Gardening tools. Find out what she does not have. Kneeling stools for gardening are great for aging knees. Plants –or plant garden art.

4) Custom made art pots. My daughter and grandchildren paint pots for me and they are my treasures.

5) Technology- Like I said before Jitterbug — – I love this phone- goole and order on line

6) Free printable cards from Huffington Post –

7) Book that cover says “We Love You Grandma-“ with messages written from all the grandkids plus pictures. Cheap, fast and irreplaceable.

8) Handprints of babies/toddlers/kids in plaster of paris. I made one for my Mom is school in kindergarten (1948) and I recall how thrilled she was. You can also just take a good piece of paper, use a non- toxic, colored ink and put handprints on, write something sweet , date and buy a frame. Better than anything you could buy (except have to buy frame)

9) Promise of time with Grandma. Make a calendar for a month when each grandchild (or adult child_ will visit for an hour or two. You decide what to do- like lunch, a game , gardening ,tech 101_ Time is precious as you age – give time.

10) Technology – Tablet that will do Skype or Face time. The best gift is a visit from family on a regular basis. If you live long distance ,this is a great way to visit. Arrange and pay for someone to teach her how to use. It

Warning Signs on Visiting Mother’s Day

May 7, 2013

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Take more than a gift if you visit an aging Mom on Mother’s Day. Take a check list for red flags. If you can go and see Mom in person on Mother’s Day, you can check up on your aging mother’s safety while you are there. Sometimes, during your visits, you may hear alarm bells, like piles of junk mail or consistently dirty clothes. Below is a list to take with you when you go to Mom’s house on Mother’s Day, or any holiday. If you do find worrisome signs, this is a good time to call a geriatric care manager to assess your mother. To find a great GCM go to National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers

Clutter in the house
Unpaid bills
Evidence of missed appointments, getting lost, or wandering
Weight loss
Poor grooming

Mother’s Day Gifts for Grandma

May 4, 2013

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Mother’s Day is coming up on May 12. This is a ritual holidays that aging families can really celebrate. Here’s some gift ideas you do can make Mom feel extra special. These ceremonial holidays and gifts mean so much more when parents are older.

Bringing the grandchildren into the celebration is a lovely gift in itself.
Handmade cards from grandkids are a top drawer present. . You can have the young artists mail their colorful greetings or think of giving Mom My Celery to deliver the message. This is an easy 2 way computer free e-mail where the grandchildren can e mail grandma a greeting for mothers day- or any day they want. It just comes out of a fax in Grandma’s home and works with any fax she may already have. You and the kids can then send her pictures, reminder and notes throughout the year.

Another wonderful product is Presto, a printing mailbox that prints e-mails and attachmnents. You can scan your 4 year olds terrific cards (kids art is the greatest) and e-mail Grandma as an attachment. With Presto the card comes out of her fax you either buy as a gift for mother’s day or skip the faxe if she she has one already.

You could all make a big sign to tack somewhere in Mom’s home saying “Happy Mother’s Day.” A homemade gift is really a bonus for grandma or Mom. In tough economic times like these, handcrafted gifts are penny wise. On top of not being pound foolish, grandmothers probably like the care a handcrafted gift just radiates.

If your kids or you are arty make a mobile for Mom /grandmom. Attach cutouts of items she loves most -like her cat, photos of the grandkids or her favorite food. (mine would be chocolate covered cherries.)

Give photos mugs with grandchildren’s pictures on them, you can order from Snapfish. Or hurry and make Snapfish photo books . When they were little, my daughter made simple prints of my grandchildren’s hands and framed them with an inexpensive frame- a great gift for me.
More ideas tomorrow.

10 Easy Gift Ideas for Grandma On Mother’s Day

Warning Signs on Visiting Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day Gifts for Grandma

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