I found this blog entry on “Tips for Working with Parents Reluctant to Move to Assisted Living” to be very informative, from a professional that has been in the senior living business for a long time. Check it out and give me your thoughts!

http://www.bma-mgmt.com/blog/?p=64

On Friday, September 11th, we ventured to do something radically different at Methuen Village- a Las Vegas Casino Night! The evening was complete with slot machines, roulette, craps, Texas Hold ‘Em, passed hors d’oeurvres, and wine and cheese… all to benefit a cause we are committed to, Alzheimer’s Disease.

The event turned out to be a great success, as we raised $2200! It’s important to note what exactly our donation will fund. The money will be delivered to the Massachusetts/New Hampshire chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association on October 4th, when we partake in the statewide Memory Walk. The Association funds nearly all of the research that is done on prevention, treatment, and a cure for the disease. They also provide much needed education and support for caregivers and family members. With the growing Alzheimer’s epidemic, we feel the work they are doing is vital, and we wish to support them in any way we can.

Posted here are some photos from the evening. I was thrilled to see many of our residents attend. The slot machines were a big hit! (Note: There will be more than 2 next year!!) Family members played poker until the end of the event, and associates volunteered to help out. What a blast! You are all invited to attend next year’s bigger and better casino night!

For anyone wishing to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association, and support our Memory Walk, we accept donations at our reception desk at any time, and we are acknowledging our supporters with a display in the country kitchen.

For information on our local Alzheimer’s Association chapter, and the Memory Walk coming up,
visit www. Alz.org/MaNh

Scrapbooks record, celebrate, and connect us to the events and people of our past and present- and help us to carry those memories into the future.  At Methuen Village, residents are eager to begin taking part in a series of workshops dedicated to organizing memorabilia, and transforming it all into beautiful memory books. 

 On Sunday, September 13^th, in celebration of Grandparent’s Day, we welcome the public to join us for a reminiscence and scrapbooking workshop!  Amanda LaFlamme, a Creative Memories consultant, will guide us as we recall our family traditions, and preserve artifacts and photos on a page to take home for our own scrapbook.  This is a lovely workshop for grandparents and their children, and grandchildren, to attend.  Materials will be included, just arrive with your happy memories and any photos, newspaper clippings, certificates, postcards, and other artifacts you have loose in your home!

 Please note that we are also seeking donations to help build our scrapbooking supplies- these would include rubber stamps, old greeting cards, stickers, postcards, etc.  Anything we can cut up and make beautiful again!

Last week I spent some time with a prospective family.  Two adult children brought their parents in to have lunch at our community.  Within the first half hour of our encounter it became apparent to me that mom and dad were masking their short-term memory loss, and confusion about their situation. Our simple, cheerful conversation, with a witty joke or two tossed in from time to time, came full circle and revolved into the same pleasant conversation again with the same witty jokes inserted.  Though seemingly content, I began to imagine that this couple spent their endless days in their big old home having these same conversations, with not much new to stimulate their minds and challenge their memory skills.

The other child expressed to me a very different perspective.  She felt mom and dad were going to need help no matter what, whether it be with homecare coming in, or while living in an assisted living.  There was no question in her mind that they were ready for some higher level of help.  But what really sold her on the idea of her parents living at Methuen Village was the fact that they would be stimulated much more in our community than they would be at home with homecare services.  She said to me, “  I enjoy my life, i want them to enjoy theirs’.  Sure they can stay at home, but they are just existing there, I want to see them LIVING.”  This really resonated with me.  This is what she wanted for herself, and thus what she wanted for her parents to have as well- to not just be existing, but be truly living. 

Tuesday August 4^th is the 26^th annual National Night Out.  Methuen has a long-standing history of celebrating this neighborhood-centered event.  The evening is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness.  Last year 15,000 communities in the US and Canada participated! 

This year Methuen Village is excited to be a part of such a positive community tradition.  We will be listed as one of the neighborhoods that “Methuenites” can visit for food, fun, and spirit building!  At 6PM on the 4^th, our residents and associates will be serving ice cream and refreshments, as we welcome visitors to Methuen’s newest neighborhood!  We are hoping for a gorgeous summer evening, so that we may host a game of badminton or volleyball out in the field in front. 

Methuen Village Assisted Living is in its first year, and every has been exciting for the new residents…. from the Grand Unveiling held in February just before opening, to our high tea celebration for Mother’s Day, and the five-piece orchestra performance. However, I would venture to say that nothing thus far has been as special and memorable as our celebration of Memorial Day that occurred over the course of a few weeks in the month of May.

Methuen Village is honored and priviledged to be home for a growing number of veterans. Given their age group, the majority of elders that tour the community have served during wartime, and they are pleased to learn that the Veterans Administration contributes funds towards assisted living for those who require some personal assistance. Thus, many have chosen to move in, and benefit from not only the personal care offered, but the commeradery and companionship of others like themselves.

When the city of Methuen joined forces to place a new flag on the grave of each and every fallen hero, Methuen Village veterans were glad to contribute. Veterans themselves, they traveled to Saint Anthony’s Cemetery, and spent two Saturday mornings placing flags as a team. For many, this was the first opportunity they had been given to volunteer in a long time, and it felt good! Then, on Memorial Day weekend, the community worked to create their own Wall of Honor, with old photographs of Methuen Village veterans, placed prominently in the center sun room. And on that gorgerous Sunday, the Veterans walked over to Saint Monica’s School to observe the Wall of Honor there, displayed to honor 650 of our Merrimack Valley’s veterans. They returned for an outdoor barbeque, made just for them.

Mahatma Ghandi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” No one knows this better than our Veterans. The celebration of Memorial Day, throughout the month of May, really brought into focus what Methuen Village is and will continue to be: It is just another neighborhood full of great neighbors in our city of Methuen. The residents want to be a part of the greater community, and want Methuen to be involved with our neighborhood as well. To learn more about Methuen Village- to take a tour, to volunteer with our residents, call 978-685-2220 or visit us at 4 Gleason St, in Methuen.