Oh, Coronavirus. You have put such a damper on what we all expected from our lives this year. While I'm not going to dive into the bad, or the good, that has come out of this virus and how it has affected our individual lives, all I know is that each of us have dealt with 2020 in the way we best felt fit. And guess what? THAT IS OKAY!
Each of us has learned to adapt to the current situation (isn't it incredible how we are able to adapt and overcome?). One thing I've learned is just how hard this virus and isolation has been on family members, who are either immune compromised, have pre-existing conditions, or are older. To have someone you hold dear to your heart risk getting the virus, rather than being put into quarantine, is just heartbreaking. There is a fine line between wanting to comply with family wishes of seeing you, and keeping them safe, because you do not know if you have been exposed or not to the virus. There are so many ways to make someone feel as if they are not alone during this time, even if you can't hug them, or get within six feet of them.
Ideas include:
-Setting up a weekly Facebook video chat, Zoom chat, etc. with the entire family.
What we did was get our Grandpa an Ipad, in which my mom pre populated all the necessary tabs and sites she could think of that my Grandpa would use. This will also allow your loved one to be able to stay connected, at the touch of their fingertips, to social media, the news, and even Netflix and other platforms.
-Create a list of movie and show recommendations to send to them.
-Create a scrapbook of happy memories, that includes all of THEIR loved ones.
While the above ideas are relevant and strong, and are personally proven ways to allow loved ones to stay connected, the following suggestion is one that my husband and I started almost two months ago. While other factors contributed as to why we started this, the Coronavirus played a huge part:
Since most of the elderly and immune compromised are still adhering to the stay at home order, this can prevent them from getting proper nutrition. Think about it: They don't have easy access to just walking into the grocery store (yes, I know that there is curbside and delivery, but it might not be as easy for them, as it is for us who are not in a compromised position), they cannot go and pickup a take out order at a restaurant, etc. This can resort to them eating frozen meals, that are loaded with sodium, and might not contain all the necessary nutritients they need.
In order for our Grandpa to get the comfort of home cooked meals, as well as make sure he gets the nutrition he needs, we started making large batches of dinners, and bringing them to him once a month. Each of the meals that we make, we put into gallon zip lock bags, that can be frozen. According to my Grandpa, by having each individual bag he can take and defrost and reheat, this makes it so that he doesn't forget that they're there, and that they don't go to waste. Bonus: We also decorate the bags with cute sayings, reminding him how loved here is!
I use a few of my own recipes (crock pot pulled pork, as well as sausage and peppers; which are his favorite), and I also have a Pinterest board that is devoted to one sheet pan meals, as well as fun and healthy sides, that are easy and convenient to freeze.
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