May 2005 Ezine Linking Seniors, Family Caregivers and Healthcare Professionals

You can read our ezine on line at Back Issues

Logo Contest Winners
Words of Wisdom
Save a Life…In a Story, by Marcia Passos Duffy
The Enigma of Womanhood, by Barbara Mascio
Recipe Contest
Calendar of Events
Welcome New Senior Approved Services!
Stop Guessing, Select a Senior Approved Service
Senior Approved Staff ~ Growing

Logo Contest Winners

Ms. Brown received a monetary award and all four winners receive free advertising on our business resource page for a year. If you or your company is in search of a logo, graphics for imprinted material, free-hand artwork, web graphics and design (and so forth), you can work with these students confidently. With the Internet and technology as it is these days, contracting with these students is quite easy, regardless of your location.

To learn more, see Graphic Designs

Back to Top

Words of Wisdom

Lois C. of Willoughby Hills Ohio forwarded this little tidbit (which was forwarded to her by a colleague)

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming...
Damn, What a ride!!

Do you know the history behind Mothers Day? Well, it's not a Hallmark Holiday. See Mothers Day ~ The Truth

We had several ezine readers submit their favorite quotes by and about women. We've compiled those on one page. These include quotes from Lucille Ball, Maya Angelou , Anne Frank and Janis Joplin. See Famous Quotes I especially liked the quote of Bette Davis, "Old age is no place for sissies."

To read more words of wisdom submitted by our readers, and to submit yours, see Your Wisdom

Back to Top

Save a Life…In a Story

This was the case with me. My grandmother died 2 years ago at the age of 94. She was born in Portugal and immigrated twice – to Brazil then to the United States where she lived with my parents for 30 years -- and many stories to tell of her adventures. I was very close with my grandmother, who came to live with us when I was 12. She was a skilled, animated storyteller – as are many people of her generation.

Her stories were so vivid I believed that I would always remember them. To this day, I don’t understand why I did not take a tape recorder and just let her talk into it while she spun her yarns. I’m a professional writer, and yet, I never thought to do that. And when she died I realized that while I remember some of her stories to tell to my own children, as time goes on I am forgetting the delightful details, twists and turns she gave her stories.

Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence -- everyday a family elder dies, and along with them, their stories. In the weeks that followed after my grandmother’s death I realized something important: If, I, as a writer, had never thought to take down my grandmother’s personal history, how many more families are losing their precious stories – so valuable in keeping families – particularly our children -- rooted and grounded?

That is why I became a personal historian. I know that by recording these family stories, we allow future generations to discover their ancestors’ personalities, experiences and wisdom. It is a record that ensures a life -- and experiences -- will never be forgotten ... continue reading at Save a Story

Back to Top

The Enigma of Womanhood

Women, the female species, are truly an enigma. The dictionary defines enigma as a puzzle or riddle, a mysterious person, thing or situation.

Many of our clients are widowed women in their 70's and 80's. They are strong industrious women, yet many have never written a check. They are savvy women; yet crumble at the thought of questioning authority. They are intelligent women that become hopelessly vulnerable to car mechanics, physicians, accountants and contractors.

Yet, this is the very generation that became the car mechanic, the physician, the laborers, and the accountants in the absence of their men during WWII. They are the daughters of the brave women before them that paved the way for voting rights.

Women are unique and often times not nearly as influential as they could be and quite often, that's our own fault. After hundreds of years of fighting, a constitutional amendment granted us the right to vote in the year 1920.

A federal law passed in 1974 known as the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), protecting both children and female spouses against abuse. Prior to that, it was quite legal to beat your child and/or your spouse. In contrast, an act for the prevention of cruelty to animals was passed in 1867.

While researching this article I came across Empirical Evidence on Social/Environmental Influences on Gender It shows that we are getting better at the way we socialize and educate women/girls. We are slowly, but surely, moving past the days when we were told it wasn't important for us to learn and master math, science or politics.

I was raised to aspire to be someone's wife. College was not discussed with girls in my social environment of rural Portage County Ohio. I rebelled on many levels (I was a handful) yet the 'story' I was told continued to stir in conflict with what my spirit was screaming - you are you, not property!

Part of the 'story' included that I should obey my husband and to be his helpmate. Nice story, I tried it once (for seven hellish years) it didn't work for me.

I, like many women in my generation, have struggled to find our place while reconciling the stories we were told in our youth, stories passed on by our mothers, their mothers and so on. We have power and we are learning how to use it.

I see in my daughter-in-law the evolution of women even from the time I was Denise's' age. She and my son are true partners in life and in marriage as well as in parenting. Their children, Zachary and Isabella are both being raised without the thought of gender limitations. Isabella could just as easily become the President of United States as Zachary.

I do not believe that we have to put men down or to overpower a man in order to assert our power. We need to embrace our femininity and recognize it is a strength and not as a weakness.

Moms, are you teaching your sons to learn domestic chores ~ or are you waiting on them hand and foot? My mother-in-law (a jewel that came with my second marriage to a wonderful man for 18 years, Richard, son of Pat) raised 3 children. Two boys, one girl. She taught each one how to fend for themselves; there were no chores 'for boys' and chores 'for girls'. Each learned the basics. The result? I am married to someone who truly partners with me on everything from cooking to grocery shopping to yard care. And I never hear, "I washed the dishes for you" rather "I washed the dishes".

If you want your sons to marry a woman, and not a maid or a 'mother figure', then start early teaching them how to do the basics.

Impress upon your daughters the importance of independence. It's quite alright for each of us to partner with someone, but to feel that you have no choice is not the Truth, just another 'story' someone told us and we believed it.

We have the freedom in this country to pursue any career. We can vote. We are slowly, very slowly, beginning to earn the same pay as men in the same positions. This varies by vocation, we've made some progress, but we're still not there.

I believe it's the women on our planet that bear the burdens of pain and loss. We are also the ones capable of creating environments of peace and joy. Our emotions and ability to feel as we do are often times the brunt of jokes. The 'story' that we and our male counterparts are told, regarding our emotions and hormones, ought to be challenged.

These stories are so strong in our society that until very recently, even medical research on such illnesses as breast cancer was historically done on males, believing the female body offered too many variables because of our hormones.

I guess what I want to say here. We need to know our history, and we need to honor those that made the sacrifices that today, afford women all the same social and legal rights of men. We need to consider the stories that we've been told as young woman and decide if the story is really true.

We have the power as moms, as executives, as politicians, as judges; to bring tolerance and peace to our worlds. We ought neither to dismiss nor to misuse this power.

Back to Top

Recipe Contest

Our latest submissions include a recipe for Chocolate Mousse, submitted by Sapna M. from New Delhi India, Avocado & Chick Pea Salad, submitted by Yael B. of Ontario Canada, Mac & Tom, submitted by Shannon S. of New Hampshire CT. To view these yummy recipes and others see Recipes

Back to Top

Calendar of Events

My Home Care, Inc (A Senior Approved Service) invites you to stop by their table at The Central Illinois Senior Celebration, Wednesday, May 18th, at the Illinois State Fairground. See the calendar for details.

Other events this month (all over the United States) include free workshops for caregivers, free pampering days for professionals, classes offer CEU credits and more!

If you are in the financial planning or insurance business, you won't want to miss the 5th Annual Selling to Seniors Conference! It occurs in October, but we're reminding you to reserve your spot now. Senior Approved Services is one of the media sponsors for this event.

Back to Top

Welcome New Senior Approved Services!

Our most recent Certified Senior Approved Services are ....
Hamilton Home Care, Inc
My Home Care, Inc
Seniors Home Advantage
S.A.R.A.H. Adult Day Services
M and M Partnership ~ Seniors Share a Home
Park Creek Center
Sunrise Assisted Living of RR
Kevin Plank, Financial Advisor
Attorney Mary Ann Thomas
Northcoast Conflict Solutions ~ Elder Mediation
Do it Now, an organizational handbook by Jean Wales
Advanced Laser Solutions

We are currently surveying additional services in OH, IL, NJ, CA, CO, and TX. To learn more about excellent companies, verified by the very seniors that are or have used the service themselves, see Approved Services

Back to Top

Stop Guessing, Select a Senior Approved Service!

The Certification is proof that the business you reach out to has a history of excellent quality service. Before you contract with a business, ask if they are Certified as a Senior Approved Service. If they are not, please pass our contact information to them. Our toll free number is 877-620-6448. We will help the business begin the survey process leading to certification.

Why trust any other business? All of our businesses within the network of Senior Approved Services have contracted with Senior Approved Services to survey their clients. Only those businesses with a 90% or higher 'senior satisfaction rating' are awarded the Certification. The Certification removes the guesswork as you attempt to sift through the multiple choices available these days.

Think about this for a moment. Businesses that offer product, resources and services to our seniors contract with us to conduct this survey. This says an awful lot about these businesses. There are no guarantees that they will receive certification. The survey results must be 90% or higher. This is just one of the many reasons we feel so comfortable recommending these successful Certified Senior Approved Services to our seniors and their family members.

Our network represents the best of the best! If you've missed past announcements highlighting current Senior Approved Services, you may want to visit our Directory of Services We have several businesses currently in the survey process right now. Once the survey process is complete and these elder care services have received their Certification (which is based on survey results of their current clients) we will announce their addition.

So, if you are searching now for a service and you don't see what you are looking for in your state, feel free to contact our Ohio office. Our office hours are Monday - Saturday from 8 am to 6pm Eastern Time. Our direct phone number is 216-883-3163 and our toll free number is 877-620-6448.

Attention Service Providers Do you offer a quality level of service to your existing client base? If so, let your clients recommend your service to our seniors and their family members. Take advantage of our introductory survey fee by being the first of three services in your zip code area. Once we have surveyed three companies offering the same or similar service in your area, the introductory pricing structure will come to an end. We have far more inquiry calls than we have services to recommend. Applying for certification now places you in an advantageous position and will save you hundreds of dollars! See Service Providers to learn more.

Back to Top

Senior Approved Staff ~ Growing

We have several folks in training right now. Lee from Texas, Alicia from Colorado, Ester from Texas, Marty from PA, George from PA, and Tamra from Wisconsin. Once training is complete, you will be able to read about these individuals on our Staff Page Our staff page provides a short bio and also offers email addresses of each associate.

So, if you are in CA, ID, IL, NY, OH, TX and want to reach your local associate directly to discuss how to become a Certified Senior Approved Service, you may feel free to do so.

We are continuing to hire. We are in special need of representation in Ohio, Florida, Alabama, N. and S. Carolina and New Jersey. However, every state (even the ones where we have representation) is open.

If you would like to be part of an innovative company, advocating for the right of all seniors to receive excellent care, and you have the discipline to work from your home office, we would like to speak with you. Please see Employment for instructions.