Our lives can be stressful. We have deadlines at work. Families who need our attention. Bills that need to be paid. Medical appointments that need to be kept. Old friends we want to contact. Exercise goals that we want to accomplish. And traffic jams.

If New York City has taught me anything it is that in order to support my ambitions I must also find balance. Sure, that sounds like a line straight out of the film, “Eat Pray Love,” which I did see last evening and quite enjoyed, but the theme…

Last week, we celebrated the 10 year anniversary of our center. We were grateful to receive Proclamations from Mayor Bloomberg, the City Council of New York and Helen Marshall, Queens Borough President. We are proud to partner with New York City to help serve seniors in Queens and Brooklyn.

We had a wonderful celebration and I’d like to share some comments from our participants:

• Age has no meaning here.
• Without this place, I wouldn’t be going out.
• I have learned a lot since coming here.
• I feel accepted with open arms.
• The staff here appreciate seniors’…

I have written a few posts on parenting and feel the need to touch on those parents that raise children who may not be so healthy or may have disabilities. It is rarely a topic you read in a parenting book. It may not even be in the parenting section of your local bookstore but in a special section. There are few words that can truly describe how difficult it can be for many parents who are raising these children. I have worked with many families over the years and…

This week, our Day Center is celebrating our 10^th anniversary! It’s quite a milestone and I’m filled with pride as I see what we’ve created. You can gather people in any space, but it’s what the staff and seniors bring that give it life and meaning.

Ten years ago, we started our center with about 15 participants on our census. Over the past 10 years, we’ve enrolled over 1,100 seniors from Queens and Brooklyn. Our seniors came here not knowing a soul and now they have a family. Not only do they…

When it comes to writing I have been a procrastinator my whole life. From the Western Civilizations paper in high school to the take home final for an arts in education class a few years ago, I can’t churn the work out. It’s not that I don’t enjoy writing, in fact I’m really quite fond of it, but when I set out on assignment, I am always waiting for that elusive divine spark of inspiration… that flash of brilliance that will make the essay poignant, memorable, and worth the reader’s…

This is Caramel. She’s a 16 year old female Calico cat that has been in my life since 1995. I brought her home from the Animal Protective League in Cleveland while I was in my second to last year of nursing school. She was 7 months old and feisty.

Caramel has lived with me in a total of five different apartments since I graduated college. She consoled me through the end of a relationship, encouraged me with her approving meows into a new one, and she moved to New York with…

Caregivers have a lot on their plate, and it can be very challenging balancing caregiving responsibilities while taking care of their own lives and families. Some people with Alzheimer’s Disease may exhibit wandering behaviors and that adds even more challenges to keeping loved ones safe and healthy. Some may attempt to leave their safe environments without supervision or may get lost while out in the community unattended.

At our center, we have a Wanderguard program for memory impaired seniors to help prevent wandering. The Alzheimer’s Association has a Safe Return Program…

I have always admired caregivers for the sacrifices they make for their loved ones. In recent weeks my admiration for them has only deepened as my wife and I welcomed in our first child. We have been learning the art of burping, changing diapers, surviving those sleepless nights and of course providing the love our daughter needs.

I realized that our family’s time of transition is truly a on the job learning experience. It was not a surprise that the caregivers I’ve met in the past few years came to mind…

One of our participants has had a very ill daughter for many years. Over the years, her daughter has visited us at the center, enjoyed our entertainment, and always admired the jewelry that her mother made here. Our participant loves jewelry making and has made many necklaces for her daughter. It’s been so therapeutic for her to get involved in these art projects during these difficult years, and it was especially important to her to be able to give her daughter these gifts.

Sadly last week, her daughter passed away. She…

Today much research is being done on infant development and sleep positions. Why? Because it is very important for infant safety that the “Back to Sleep” position be utilized as it has proven to decrease the number of deaths from Sudden Infant Deaths (SIDS). In terms of “tummy time” and infant development, much has been determined since the Back to Sleep Campaign started in 1994. First, the number of head deformities are on the rise. Our infants need tummy time to develop muscle control in their head and neck as…