There is a good feeling that goes with knowing that you have made sure your affairs are in order long before you need to them to be.  Senior citizens today are in the best health of any other generation.  So while you are still healthy, active and vibrant, now is the time to make sure your insurance, funeral directives and wills are all in order so you have that information on file and a designated loved one well trained in the event of your early departure from this life.

But there is one will you may have left out of your preparations so far.  That is what is called your Ethical Will.   An Ethical Will is unlike any other document you will prepare.  This document has no legal bearing on your estate.  It does not pass along property or instruct your executor on how you want your financial, business or property affairs to be handled.  Instead, your Ethical Will passes along to your loved ones something more precious than property.  It passes along your values.

An Ethical Will is a very personal document or set of documents that is used to resolve issues that may be remaining at end of life, to communicate the ethics and morals behind your legal decisions or to provide sage instructions to your children or friends about how you want them to carry on your legacy of charitable work or value based activities once you are gone.

In a way, the Ethical Will requires more thought, prayer and consideration of what you actually want to say to your loved ones than your conventional will.  Typically, you prepare an Ethical Will to be given or read to your loved ones after funeral as way of giving them one last touch of who you really are as a person.  So you can see that an Ethical Will can be a precious memory that will be treasured long past when your wealth or possessions are no longer around. 

Your Ethical Will may be passed from generation to generation.  Just imagine if you had a document written by your grandparents or great grandparents that spoke with heart and from a personal perspective about what they found wonderful about life, where their values took them and what they would pass to you from their heart to you, their child far off in the future.  That document would be of tremendous value to you and would be precious to your children and grandchildren down the line.

Ethical Wills can also be used to seek forgiveness for wrongs committed that you just could not resolve in life.  Conversely, you can give forgiveness where it may be needed and heal a life long rift between you and a family member and provide peace and closure as you go to your reward.  You don’t have to prepare just one Ethical Will.  You could prepare a separate one for each child, for your spouse and for your business associates and friends.  Obviously each will address a different level of intimacy and arena of values and ethics.

It’s a good thing to think about if you want to leave an Ethical Will for your friends and loved ones.  There is able reading on the market about how to get started writing your Ethical Will.  And if you take the time to put down on paper your heart and soul in this way, it will be source of comfort for a level of your “affairs” that you put in order well in advance that is even more meaningful than your conventional will or other end of life documents.

Post from: Today Senior

Ethical Wills

Because online casino games are becoming more and more popular, many websites are offering them for free. But there are many things to consider before joining such online game sites. Remember, real money is involved in these games so you must be very careful to avoid scams.

Players who join online casinos do not have to deposit only money, but also some important information, such as their credit card number. If the moneys and essential information were stolen, then the players would be at a huge loss. That’s why online casinos take action to solve such problems. Here are the things that the players should understand before joining such gambling sites.

Privacy Policy

One method to provide security is through Privacy Policy. This contains the details about the gathered information–how it will be used and kept secured.  If you join any kind of online gaming site, then you should read first their Privacy Policy before you agree to their terms and conditions.

Encryption Protocols

The most vital feature of online gambling security is the protection of the money throughout fiscal transactions over the Internet. Encryption protocols have been developed to guarantee that the transaction of money and information is safe.

Dispute Resolution

The third feature to ensure security of the players is the dispute resolution.  Gaming and financial transactions are archived to guarantee transparency. Players can check these if they want to. In case of a dispute, these archives will be checked out to study the tracks, and resolve the problem.

Post from: Today Senior

How can Seniors Play Online Casino Games without feeling at Risk of Fraud

Owning a pet requires a lot of care and patience, and it is the responsibility of the owner to look after his pets. But imagine the time when you need to take your family on a long, pending vacation or travel for business to get that important contract. Who’s gonna look after your ‘loyal friend’, who’s gonna do the daily chores like feeding, bathing, washing up the pet’s house, cleaning up the mess that the pet might have caused, or giving that monthly dose of Sentinel to your dog to get rid of fleas and heartworms? It’s in times like these that Pet companions come into play. They not only provide loving companionship and care for your pet while you are away from home, but can fill-up the void created by you .You can rest assured that there is someone who will be constantly watching over and caring for your pets just as you would care for them.

There are many pet companion agencies around who can help you in this kind of situation. But there are certain basic rules to follow while hiring such people:

1) Before getting into the contract, check whether the agency is a valid one that provides reliable services.

2) It should have well-trained professionals to perform the various daily activities associated with your pets.

3) The sitter should be sensitive and considerate enough to gel with your pets and look after them the way you do.

4) Make sure you gather contact numbers from the agency to get in touch with them as and when you want to know about how your pet is doing.

Post from: Today Senior

Pet Companions: Everything you Need to Know

Accepting The Facts

Although it’s easier said than done, accepting the fact that your hair will never be the same is an important step and vindicating experience. Even if you plan on wearing a quick weave or getting hair transplants, the truth is your hair will never be like it was when you were young. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you can move on.

Trying Hair Growth Products

From Rogaine to dietary supplements… there are a number of products on the market that claim to be able to help. Although they may help to a degree, scientists have not yet found a hair loss cure. Therefore, it’s important to have realistic expectations when using these products. They may help some, or they may not help at all.

Wearing a Wig or Quick Weave

For many, the only way to completely correct their hair loss is to cover it up. Luckily, these days the wigs they make are now more realistic than ever. Many of them actually use real remy hair. Now you may be asking what is remy hair? Well, it’s minimally processed hair that comes from a single donor. This helps to ensure the texture is uniform. A lace front wig is a good solution if you have gone bald, but if you only need minimal correction, you may want to look into a quick weave. A quick weave is a type of hair piece which attaches to your natural strands of hair; therefore it’s a great way to augment thinning hair.

Hair Transplants

For those only experiencing hair loss in one hair, you may want to look into getting hair transplants. The surgeon will transplant follicles from one area and put them into the area which needs hair. If you have a thick, dense head of hair, this can be a good option since there’s plenty to spare. But for those that have overall thin hair to begin with, it’s probably not a good option.

Conclusion

This a problem that not only men, but also many women will experience during their senior years. It’s an inevitable problem and it’s important to accept this reality. Although there are a wide array of options – from quick weaves to transplants – the truth is it’s impossible for us to have the same head of hair that we did during our youth.

Post from: Today Senior

Senior Hair Loss: What Are Your Options?

(1) Eat Healthy

While this may sound cliché, what you eat actually has a lot to do with not only your physical health, but your appearances also. Just like your other organs, your skin needs certain nutrients to be in optimal shape. Skincare professionals recommend drinking plenty of water on a daily basis. As far as what to put on your plate, fresh fruits and vegetables contain key ingredients – antioxidants, vitamins, and numerous minerals. There are also nutrients in some meats and eggs that are important like retinol A, which is the animal form of vitamin A. If you’re eating a healthy diet, you probably already have these things covered. But there is one important ingredient which many people don’t think of, and that is healthy oils. Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat – a healthy fat that researchers claim has a number of health benefits. Flax seed oil does also, but this one is special because it also contains an ingredient rarely seen in Western diets – omega-6 and omega-9. Try adding a tablespoon of each of these when you’re cooking a dish.

(2) Exercise

Again, this sounds cliché, but there’s a good reason for it. Exercising increases circulation across your entire body. What does this mean for your skin? That the increased bloodflow delivers more nutrients to your skin cells.  So not only will you be helping your heart and muscles, but your skin too. Even if you have a physical disability, there’s always at least some exercises you can still do. Talk to your doctor to find out which would be right for you.

(3) Sun Protection

Like the other tips, this is a good rule of thumb no matter what age you may be. Researchers have discovered that all forms of ultraviolet radiation (UVA, UVB, and UVC) are what’s know as carcinogenic – they are something that is more likely to produce cancer. And while young people may get away with it, years and years of that sunlight beating down on your skin takes a toll. So pickup some sunscreen next time you are at the drugstore and use it anytime you go outside. There are even inexpensive anti-wrinkle creams which also have UV-blocking agents in them, so you can kill two birds with one stone.

(4) Cosmetic Procedures

Thanks to today’s technology, there are several lasers on the market which work wonders on your skin. There are also chemical peels and micro-dermabrasion procedures. Many dermatologists and plastic surgeons can offer you these treatments. Now if you’re considering something more drastic, like going under the knife, there are important things you need to consider. Reality TV shows may make it seem like a walk in the park, but not only is cosmetic surgery expensive, there are real risks and complications you need to take into account. Just read one of the online plastic surgery forums to hear some of these disaster stories. This is not something that should be taken lightly, so consult with multiple doctors as well as your loved ones before you undergo a face lift, tummy tuck, or other surgical procedure.

Most of these are simple and in-expensive steps you can apply to your daily life. Of course talk to your doctor first before making any dietary or other lifestyle changes.

Post from: Today Senior

Looking Your Best At Any Age

Here are some common exercise issues that can lead to joint problems:

Excessive weight lifting: This is a common issue that can lead many fitness enthusiasts to end up with injured joints. Lifting heavy weights can lead to inflammation of the bursae; a small fluid filled sack that reduces the friction in joints. Bad lifting techniques also cause tears on the tendons which can lead to tendonitis. Slow and steady wins the race.

Rapid muscle strength increase: Supplements such as creatine and nitric oxide can cause our muscle strength to dramatically increase. When lifting heavy weights after taking these supplements there is a huge risk of joint damage. The reason being that muscle strength increases much quicker than joint strength. So your muscles may be able to lift the weight but your joints will be damaged in the process.

This problem is often encountered by young people as muscle strength rapidly increases due to the hormones been produced by the body at that age.

Lack of nutrition: Joints require nutrition and rest to stay in proper working order. Lack of proper nutrition diminishes the body’s ability to adapt to stress. As a result minute tears can occur in the tendons as well as deteriorating cartilage in joints. Poor nutrition along with aggressive and incorrect training techniques can lead to osteoarthritis or tendonitis (tendon inflammation). This form of joint care can be sometimes improved with glucosamine supplements, which is understood to rebuild the cartilage found in joints.

Not resting and recovering properly: Overtraining and lack of proper rest will also eventually lead to joint problems. Too much training or consistently doing heavy and extremely strenuous exercises will cause trauma and lead to joint pain. If the body cannot recover completely trauma is likely to lead to more serious problems later in life. Spacing workouts and ensuring different rep amounts are used is essential.

Hopefully these issues will highlight ways to improve your workouts and ensure you avoid making simple mistakes.

Post from: Today Senior

Joint Care Tips

There are approximately more than 30 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease worldwide. In America alone, the number of people diagnosed with the disease has reached 5.6 million.

What is Alzheimer’s disease and why is it such a great concern for us? Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia. People suffering from it exhibit permanent memory loss, irritability, confusion, breakdown of language, and withdrawal. The disease is degenerative and usually affects people aged 65 and above. Though risk for the disease increases with age, not all old people develop Alzheimer’s disease. Its causes still baffle scientists. 

Scientists have not yet found the cure for Alzheimer’s as well. Several independent studies, however, show that people who regularly stimulate their brains in their young age are least likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who don’t.

Think of your brain as your leg muscles. To keep it in shape, you have to exercise it. Notice how soft and shapeless the legs of people strapped to wheelchairs compared to soccer players. According to studies, the brain grows in a mentally nourishing environment, and diminishes in size in an impoverished environment. In other words, its size, function, and capacity changes in response to external environs.

Mental workouts are the best way to keep the brain fit. If you don’t want to suffer the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease when you turn 65 or so, never stop engaging yourself in mind-stimulating activities. Read the news each morning, and then do crossword puzzle. Beat your kid at chess. Learn new French words.

Engaging in learning activities is the key to keeping one’s mind in shape. Watching television does not qualify as a thinking activity. Also alarming is the many computer-based games we are exposed to today; they are intended to provide entertainment and nothing else. At best, they are good for exercising motor and visual coordination. When I think of those kids wasting their time on mindless computer games, it gives me a shudder. Are we up for a mindless society or a society of demented people?

Neuroscientists do not think so. They work at the forefront of neuroscience developing ways to combat Alzheimer’s disease. They have created a number of preventive solutions including memory stimulating/ assistance software. Memory stimulating/assistance software provides scientifically designed mental workouts and brain testing exercises to keep your mind active and stimulated.  

Your choice of activities today can have a great impact on your mental health as you age. So do yourself a favor. Choose activities that keep your mind in shape. But learning does not have to be boring. Brain testing activities keep your mind active without depriving you of fun. The few hours that you spend each day doing these exercises will delay several years of mental aging. When you turn 80, don’t you want to be able to name all your grandchildren and share with them stories about your childhood?

Post from: Today Senior

Memory Stimulating - Assistance Software

So why do we do it?  This may be a question your children ask when they see you going after such an ambitious goal so late in life.  But when you think about it, we as senior citizens have a right to be a bit offended by the question.  Where is it written that we are denied the right to better ourselves just because we are in the later years of life?  Implicit in the question is the implication of, “What is the point of you getting a degree since you are not going to do anyting productive in retirement and you are so close to death?”

The last thing we as senior citizens want is to be seen as people who are just sitting around waiting to die.  Many a senior citizen has started an entirely new career and accomplished great things after 50.  With the advances in medical science today, it’s perfectly logical that you could live 20-30 years or more “in retirement”.  That is plenty of time to accomplish great things.  And starting out this era of life with a good education makes just as much sense as a youth doing so as they start out on their first career. 

This is not to say that going back to school is going to be easy.  If finishing your high school degree is the goal, you are going into an alien world and one that was probably pretty hostile the first time you were there.  Your presence in the high school or college classroom is going to be the source of some humor and you might take some teasing for being there.  But those same kids will come to admire what you are doing and enjoy having “grandpa” in class with them each day.

On top of the social situation you may create in a high school or college classroom, school is a challenge.  You will have to get used to being in the classroom and listening to lectures, reading textbooks, taking notes, doing papers and taking exams all over again.  If you go after an advanced degree and take several classes, you will be a very busy senior citizen just keeping up with your studies.

But there are some joys you can expect from going after an advanced degree.  College life and being on a college campus each day is by itself a very stimulating environment.  And you may find yourself at a few pep rallies and enjoying campus life just like the other students.  Being with young people each day can be energizing and you may find yourself looking and acting as much like the youth you “hang out with” as you do your fellow senior citizens.

But the greatest benefit of getting that advanced degree is the pride or accomplishment you will get.  If you are finishing your high school or bachelor’s degree, it no doubt nagged you all your life that this was something that you started and didn’t finish.  So by going back and finishing it, you close that door and take away the power of that nagging voice. 

Don’t be surprised if you fall in love with academic life.  Learning is tremendously addictive and you may wish to go on for yet more studies in fields of learning that have always fascinated you.  Nobody will turn away your tuition dollars if you just want to be in college for the pure joy of learning.  And you will be an inspiration to your fellow students when they see you succeed and they tell themselves, “If Grandpa over there can do it, so can I.”

Post from: Today Senior

Going Back to School

Part of your children’s resistance to you dating comes from anxiety about losing their parent which may be just as deep and lasting a grief as you had in losing your wife or husband.  It may seem strange but often it is the children of the marriage who go through the longest grief when a parent passes on.  You may have already moved along in your processing of that loss much more than they.  To children, the parents are a permanent institution and the idea that one of them would go away seems inconceivable.  And this feeling often survives well into adulthood.

So that is the first big adjustment your family ahs to make when they see you beginning to enjoy the company of the opposite sex.  They must be assured you are not going to replace mom or dad in their hearts and that this romance will never remove the love you cherish for that departed spouse.  To the children, that love must endure forever because it is the foundation of their concept of family which is a big part of their own identity as well, even though one parent may have passed away.

This is a next step in life that calls for you, the senior citizen and the wise old Grandma or Grandpa in the family mix to use some of that sensitivity and wisdom of your years to help your children and even grandchildren accept your new romance and evolve with you to a new phase of life.  If you have the chance as you begin a new relationship, the time to begin the acceptance process is before that friendship becomes a romance.

By sitting down with your children and discussing that this will happen, even before it happens, you begin the acceptance process.  In their minds and emotional systems, they begin to understand your need for companionship and for love and for romance.  You need that as much as they do.  So you explain it to them.

Then as you begin to see a romantic interest, be open with the family about what you are doing.  Adult children can even get to the point that they will be your advisor and your cheerleaders as you enjoy a new era of dating and romance.  Once that area of life is open, then when you do “bring home the date to meet the family” it wont be such a difficult thing. 

But by keeping the adult children always in the loop, they can talk with one another, agree that this is the best possible thing for you and even work to help the grandkids accept your new romance.  Before long, he or she will be able to come for dinner, join in the holidays and really become part of the family.  Just as you opened your heart when your kids were dating and finding new loves, you will teach your kids to open their hearts to someone who is becoming important to you.  It’s a cycle of life but if we handling it lovingly and honestly, it’s a good cycle.

Post from: Today Senior

Bringing in the New Blood

A full life such as this makes the adjustment to senior citizen status, retirement and the time you may spend alone and with time on your hands a bit of an adjustment.  The adjustment is even more profound if you enter your senior years alone and you find yourself alone much of the time.  The problem of loneliness is chronic in senior citizens so it’s good to get out ahead of it so it doesn’t cause serious problems the longer it goes on.

The negatives of loneliness in senior citizens are well known.  Excessive loneliness can easily lead to a sense of isolation, desperation and depression.  This can result in substance abuse or worse if the senior citizen doesn’t find a way to fight back against that feeling of being alone.  It is easy if you are in your house that used to be filled with children to feel abandoned and resentful when your day passes with no human contact.  If you have relocated to an assisted living center or nursing home, the problem may be even worse as you don’t have the comfort of familiar surroundings.  

But to feel sorry for your self and blame your children for not coming to see you is not a healthy way to fight this enemy.  Yes, your children should call or come see you more often.  But short of moving in with you or you with them, the problem of loneliness will have to be solved by you and using other means.  It may seem like a simplistic answer to loneliness but the beginning of solving these problems is a simple prescription which is – Get Out of the House!

If waiting in your house or apartment for people to bring companionship to you has not worked so far, it probably isn’t going to.  So you have to get out there and engage life directly.  If you can become proactive and take command of the situation, you will find the opportunities to find friendship and companionship are diverse and abundant.  Among some of the ways you can get in the company of other people are…

. Senior citizen functions.  If you are in an assisted living or retirement home, there are events being planned all the time for you to get out and meet your neighbors.  But even if that is not your living arrangements, most local communities have senior centers that have as one of their primary missions in life to provide social outlet for senior citizens.  So use that resource to its fullest.
. Volunteering.  There are so many excellent ways for you to volunteer at church, with civic groups or in the arts that you can stay continuously busy.  Not only do you get the gratification of doing something good for others, you get out and meet people which is a sure cure for loneliness.
. Church.  If you are active in your church, they always have ways for you to be involved during the day.  Some of them will be volunteer opportunities but others might just be attending a good bible study or social time with your Sunday School class.
. Pitch in with the grandkids.  This is a wonderful way to get out.  You love those grandkids and by giving your children a way to get out and leave them in a trusted place, you do them good and get tons of great play time with those sweet children.

These are just a few great ways for you to get out and meet people who will welcome you with open arms.  These are areas of life that are eager for an enthusiastic Grandma or Grandpa to jump in feet first and get involved.  Getting involved means staying busy and staying busy means never feeling lonely again. And that is the permanent cure for loneliness.

Post from: Today Senior

Fighting Loneliness