Moving Toward a Brighter Future

The transition from a home you’ve lived in for many years to a new environment can trigger difficult emotions for everyone involved. Adult children may feel apprehensive about suggesting to mom and dad what to do, and aging parents may feel guilty for being a burden, or deny that they are ready to make a transition at all. It’s natural to have these feelings, but it’s also important to understand what’s causing them and how they can be managed.

Resolving emotional uncertainty starts by understanding that you don’t have to face your journey alone. It helps to talk about your questions with those who care about you and identify a network of people and resources that can help. The decision to move is the beginning of a transition that can be a challenging and lengthy process. Whether it’s moving to independent living, assisted living, memory care, or nursing care, navigating this journey requires planning, patience, and research.

Don’t feel as though you have to work through this on your own. Let Aspen’s trained and caring professionals help. Our associates are experts in senior living, and they not only offer care and living solutions, they also help seniors and family members learn how to reduce the stress and emotional uncertainty associated with making the transition.

Prepare for Your New Chapter

The time is finally here! You are about to start an exciting new chapter in your life. It’s okay if you don’t feel ready just yet. Adjustments take time, and moving to a senior living community is no different. It can be hard at first, but after you settle into your spacious room with all of your belongings, it’ll begin to feel like home right away. To make the process easier, we’ve provided a few tips that will help you feel ready for this next step.

Three Ways to Successfully Tackle Your Move to Senior Living

Say goodbye to your current home

You’ve spent a lot of time in your home creating memories. Before you leave, spend a day or evening enjoying your home in your favorite way. For some it may be asking family to give you a night alone to sit in your favorite chair and watch your favorite TV show. For others it may mean having family and friends in for dinner, or enjoying a garden or deck. It’s important to remember and appreciate the time you spent there, but to also begin looking forward to the memories you’ll be making in your new home.

Be mindful of emotional traps

Any type of change, whether it’s moving to a new house or a new city, can stir up emotions. For many people, it’s a regular part of the moving process. Be open to these emotions and let yourself experience them. But also be aware of the motivation behind these feelings. Your negative emotions might be trigged by unfounded fears.

Fear can often be a trap that can hold you back from fully experiencing life, and many times, that fear isn’t based on a fact or proven truth. The truth is that many seniors prefer living in a senior living community than living alone, and they are glad they made the move. If you find yourself getting nervous about the upcoming move, list the positive aspects of this change: no more cooking, the security of having assistance, new friends, and interesting activities to explore. Try to focus on everything you’ll be gaining when you go to the community, as opposed to what you think you might be losing.

Get familiar with your new surroundings as soon as possible

This new living space may feel unknown and strange when you first move in. But it’s only because you aren’t used to it yet. The more you start getting to know the community, the more at home you’ll begin to feel. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the daily routines, availability of services, and layout of your new apartment. And seek out answers to some of your questions. Some good questions to ask would be: How will you get to the dining room from your apartment? What common spaces are available for you to enjoy time with family and friends? What kinds of things are on the community calendar that may be of interest to you? How will you arrange your furniture in your new space? Is there a resident who can answer some questions about community life?

Investing time and energy into the emotional part of the senior living journey will reap rewards.  Aspen is committed to bringing new life to senior living and we look forward to saying, “Welcome Home.”

Helping Your Loved One Transition to Assisted Living

Make the Transition Smoother

An assisted living community could be the perfect solution for your loved one. But even with all the wonderful benefits of a community, sometimes seniors can have a tough time transitioning to their new home. And it’s not just seniors, transitions can be tough for everyone involved, including the caregiver. The important thing to remember is that making the move to senior living is usually a very positive change.

In order to help you and your loved one navigate through this time, we’ve provided some helpful tips to make the transition easier for everyone involved:

Don’t feel guilty. Many caregivers feel like they should be the sole provider of daily care to their loved one. But this usually isn’t a realistic expectation. You may have your own kids to care for and/or work a full-time job. So it may just be impossible to care for an elderly loved one on top of all that — and that’s OK. You don’t need to feel guilty. Our assisted living communities provide an environment where your loved one can thrive, with plenty of opportunities to build quality relationships, participate in engaging activities and be cared for by a team of kind individuals who love what they do.

Help them create a list of questions. Your loved one will likely have a number of questions about assisted living and their new community prior to moving in. Help them create a list that they can bring to the staff. Getting the answers they want can help your loved one feel more comfortable at the community.

Decorate your loved one’s space with items that are both familiar and new. When your loved one downsizes from their own home to an assisted living apartment, it can stir up a lot of emotions. Make plans to decorate their new apartment with items from their current home, but also mix in a few new items as well. A new bedding set or piece of art can help remind your loved one that this new home has the potential for new, exciting experiences — if they are only open to it.

Plan regular visits. Seniors often fear that they’ll be forgotten about once they move into a community. So, establish regular visitation times. If you and your loved one had set plans together prior to moving in, like shopping together on Sunday, then continue to follow that routine after they’re in assisted living. Be mindful of how often you are visiting though, because you want to encourage your loved one to socialize with others at the community.

Be encouraging. Some people are natural social butterflies, while others tend to be more naturally withdrawn. Whatever personality type fits your loved one, encourage them to engage in the many activities and social opportunities their particular community offers. Also, be sure to speak regularly with the staff at the community in order to stay up-to-date on how your loved one is adjusting.

Helping Your Loved One Transition to Memory Care

Beginning the Transition

For many caregivers, memory care communities signal the end of something, but it doesn’t have to be seen that way. Modern memory care communities are structured to help seniors with memory loss retain their memory and independence by providing specialized care, nutritious meals, social activities and more.

Making the transition from a personal home to a memory care community should be done in small steps. Here are some tips for caregivers to keep in mind:

1. Visit the new community. Go with your loved one to the new memory care community and let them take part in the activities. Introduce them to the staff and let them see the type of apartments available. Once you’ve selected a community, take them on weekly visits so they can get familiar with the residents and staff.
2. Tell their story. Share your loved one’s likes and dislikes, hobbies, and passions with the memory care staff. This helps the staff develop a deeper relationship with your loved one as well as establish a more personalized care plan.
3. Move in the good memories. Schedule a time that you and your family can move in your loved one’s favorite belongings. Try to arrange the items in a way that reminds your loved one of their prior home. Seniors with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia take comfort in what they recognize. Help them decorate a room that will be calming and comfortable.

There may be days when your loved one wants alone time, while there may be other days when your loved one wants to be surrounded by their family. Try to accommodate these wishes as best you can so that they can still feel in control of their life.

Let Us Help

Aspen knows how difficult it can be to transition your loved one to a memory care community. That’s why we work with both residents and their families in this next phase of life.