WEBVTT 00:00:00.590 --> 00:00:06.530 Hey everyone, welcome to the Senior Safety Advice 00:00:06.530 --> 00:00:10.910 Daily podcast. Today we're going to talk about 00:00:11.019 --> 00:00:13.679 It's the end of month reflection for February 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:18.179 of 2026. And as I've been saying all month, February 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:21.420 is heart health and emotional resilience month. 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:24.920 I'm Esther Kane, a retired occupational therapist 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:28.719 and a certified aging in place specialist and 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:32.829 a dementia care specialist as well. So The theme 00:00:32.829 --> 00:00:35.729 for this end of month reflection for February 00:00:35.729 --> 00:00:40.590 of 26 is love as a lifeline. Because when I look 00:00:40.590 --> 00:00:47.270 back over the past month, all the topics that 00:00:47.270 --> 00:00:51.850 we've talked about, heart health, stress, connection, 00:00:52.250 --> 00:00:56.469 sleep, laughter. They all circle back to one 00:00:56.469 --> 00:01:00.310 thing and that one thing is love. Not the big 00:01:00.310 --> 00:01:04.030 dramatic kind, you know, not the movie version, 00:01:04.510 --> 00:01:08.150 which we all know really isn't real, but the 00:01:08.150 --> 00:01:12.069 quiet steady kind. The kind that shows up in 00:01:12.069 --> 00:01:16.950 small ways most every day. Things like checking 00:01:16.950 --> 00:01:21.530 in on each other, cooking a meal for a neighbor, 00:01:21.650 --> 00:01:25.920 a friend, a loved one. fixing a loose rug, or 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:28.299 just fixing things without being asked to fix 00:01:28.299 --> 00:01:32.159 things. Sitting with someone when words aren't 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:36.159 needed. That kind of love keeps people going. 00:01:36.859 --> 00:01:40.879 I've seen it my whole career. People don't just 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:45.519 survive on medication and routines. They survive 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:49.620 on being cared about. And here's something that 00:01:49.620 --> 00:01:54.099 I've noticed over my years of caring for my own 00:01:54.099 --> 00:01:58.780 parents and caring for my patients as an occupational 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:04.000 therapist is that when love is present, the body 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.859 does better. And I'm going to go a step further 00:02:06.859 --> 00:02:10.099 and say that the body and the mind do better. 00:02:10.750 --> 00:02:14.530 People can tend to heal faster, they tend to 00:02:14.530 --> 00:02:18.530 cope better, and they tend to feel safer. And 00:02:18.530 --> 00:02:22.949 let's face it, safety is everything. And love 00:02:22.949 --> 00:02:26.909 definitely creates safety. It tells the nervous 00:02:26.909 --> 00:02:31.310 system, you're not alone, you matter, someone 00:02:31.310 --> 00:02:34.289 sees you, and everything is going to be okay. 00:02:34.870 --> 00:02:38.939 And when the body feels that, The heart softens, 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:43.039 the breath slows down, and tension tends to ease. 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:48.020 It's not sentimental, it's biological. I've seen 00:02:48.020 --> 00:02:50.800 seniors who were declining start to stabilize, 00:02:50.900 --> 00:02:53.360 not because of a new treatment, but because someone 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.620 showed up consistently. Anything like a daughter 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:01.759 calling every day, or a son, a neighbor stopping 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:05.919 by, a caregiver who listened to a story, paid 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:10.590 attention. Love changed that trajectory. And 00:03:10.590 --> 00:03:14.129 I've seen caregivers survive incredibly hard 00:03:14.129 --> 00:03:18.569 seasons, not because they were superhuman, but 00:03:18.569 --> 00:03:22.069 because love gave them a reason to keep going. 00:03:22.550 --> 00:03:25.449 If they can find the love for a parent, the love 00:03:25.449 --> 00:03:29.050 for a spouse, the love by a spouse, and love 00:03:29.050 --> 00:03:33.689 for family. But here's something that I think 00:03:33.689 --> 00:03:38.199 is very important with this topic. Love can be 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:43.039 a lifeline for you, your loved ones, and your 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:47.599 family, especially for family caregivers. So 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:51.300 many family caregivers pour love outward and 00:03:51.300 --> 00:03:54.219 forget that they're allowed to receive it too. 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:58.020 They end up running on empty. They push, push, 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:02.469 push through situations on a daily basis. They 00:04:02.469 --> 00:04:05.650 tell themselves things like they'll rest later. 00:04:06.289 --> 00:04:10.750 But love doesn't ask you to disappear. Real love 00:04:10.750 --> 00:04:14.729 includes care for yourself. I've seen family 00:04:14.729 --> 00:04:18.410 caregivers reach breaking points to the point 00:04:18.410 --> 00:04:22.490 where they became physically ill, mentally ill, 00:04:22.750 --> 00:04:26.209 where they became incapable of caring for their 00:04:26.209 --> 00:04:29.949 loved one. And that is not what family caregiving 00:04:29.949 --> 00:04:33.410 should end up. being because it serves no one. 00:04:34.269 --> 00:04:36.889 And it's not because, and they didn't give up 00:04:36.889 --> 00:04:39.930 because they didn't care enough. They gave up 00:04:39.930 --> 00:04:44.370 because they cared too much for the other person, 00:04:44.550 --> 00:04:50.189 but not enough for themselves. And also, let's 00:04:50.189 --> 00:04:53.889 face it, a lot of family caregivers do the caring 00:04:53.889 --> 00:04:58.810 without support. and support by others. I don't 00:04:58.810 --> 00:05:02.290 care if it's your neighbors, if it's your friends, 00:05:02.990 --> 00:05:05.470 but I mean better if it's your family, but that 00:05:05.470 --> 00:05:08.750 doesn't always happen. But support is love as 00:05:08.750 --> 00:05:13.850 well. Letting someone help, letting someone listen, 00:05:14.350 --> 00:05:18.189 letting yourself rest. That's why I'm such a 00:05:18.189 --> 00:05:21.889 big proponent of respite care. It's so important. 00:05:22.810 --> 00:05:28.060 And it's not being weak. It's sustainability. 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:30.639 It's taking care of yourself so that you can 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:34.899 continue caring for your loved one. So as we 00:05:34.899 --> 00:05:38.199 close out this month, I want to invite you to 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:41.620 reflect gently, not with judgment, not with a 00:05:41.620 --> 00:05:45.439 to -do list, just reflection. Where did love 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:49.079 show up for you this month? Maybe it was very 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:51.259 obvious. Maybe you could see it. Maybe it was 00:05:51.259 --> 00:05:55.339 very subtle Maybe you came home and the living 00:05:55.339 --> 00:06:01.060 room was vacuumed maybe you took your elderly 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:06.800 mother to the doctor's appointment and on the 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:11.709 way back she offered to buy you lunch somewhere. 00:06:12.069 --> 00:06:14.050 I mean, it could be anything. Maybe it could 00:06:14.050 --> 00:06:17.209 be just a moment of laughter. Let's spend some 00:06:17.209 --> 00:06:20.310 time watching this comedian or a funny movie, 00:06:20.730 --> 00:06:24.310 a shared meal, a kind word, a friend who stopped 00:06:24.310 --> 00:06:27.170 by just to stop by to see how you're doing and 00:06:27.170 --> 00:06:30.829 they brought you a pie or a cake. All of those 00:06:30.829 --> 00:06:34.290 things are love. And then where did you offer 00:06:34.290 --> 00:06:38.810 love? To someone else? Probably a lot. but to 00:06:38.810 --> 00:06:42.230 yourself. And for seniors too, where did you 00:06:42.230 --> 00:06:45.689 offer love to someone else and where did you 00:06:45.689 --> 00:06:49.069 offer it to yourself? Even small moments matter. 00:06:49.449 --> 00:06:52.509 Love doesn't have to be perfect. It's not about 00:06:52.509 --> 00:06:56.470 perfection. It can be so powerful in the smallest 00:06:56.470 --> 00:07:02.250 ways. Sometimes love can even look like memory, 00:07:02.910 --> 00:07:05.449 remembering someone who mattered, remembering 00:07:05.449 --> 00:07:09.560 a time that you felt supported. That memory can 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:13.620 still calm the body. The nervous system remembers 00:07:13.620 --> 00:07:17.420 that sense of safety and that safety helps keep 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:21.319 people going. So as this month ends, I want you 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:24.899 to know you don't have to carry everything alone. 00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:28.199 If you're caring for someone, your love matters. 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:31.980 If you're living alone, your need for connection 00:07:31.980 --> 00:07:36.000 matters. If you're tired, your rest matters. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:39.699 Love is not just something you give, it's something 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:43.220 you deserve, and it can show up in very small 00:07:43.220 --> 00:07:47.500 ways. It can be a pause, a breath, a moment of 00:07:47.500 --> 00:07:50.500 kindness towards yourself. Those are lifelines. 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:54.259 And as we head into a new month, where spring 00:07:54.259 --> 00:07:57.920 is often beginning for some places, you don't 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:01.279 need a big plan. Just stay open to small moments 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:04.459 of care, because those moments really add up. 00:08:04.589 --> 00:08:07.529 They steady the heart, calm the nervous system, 00:08:07.970 --> 00:08:12.370 and remind us why we keep going. Love doesn't 00:08:12.370 --> 00:08:15.750 fix everything. Lord knows that. But it carries 00:08:15.750 --> 00:08:18.970 us through. And sometimes that's exactly all 00:08:18.970 --> 00:08:22.089 that we need. Well, it's been a great month, 00:08:22.089 --> 00:08:24.730 February. I want to thank you again for being 00:08:24.730 --> 00:08:27.850 here with me. If today's episode gave you some 00:08:27.850 --> 00:08:30.410 useful insights or new ideas, then please share 00:08:30.410 --> 00:08:33.250 it with someone who you think might find it helpful 00:08:33.250 --> 00:08:36.710 as well. You can discover even more expert tips 00:08:36.710 --> 00:08:38.929 and helpful guides for seniors and caregivers 00:08:38.929 --> 00:08:42.789 at seniorsafetyadvice .com. And you can get a 00:08:42.789 --> 00:08:45.190 lot more information as well just by signing 00:08:45.190 --> 00:08:49.090 up to our newsletter at seniorsafetyadvice .com. 00:08:49.570 --> 00:08:51.830 And hey, if you're searching for an aging in 00:08:51.830 --> 00:08:55.809 place specialist, visit our website at aginginplacedirectory 00:08:55.809 --> 00:08:59.450 .com. You can find everything there from contractors 00:08:59.450 --> 00:09:04.700 to geriatric care managers to designers to all 00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:07.419 kinds of services and products that can help 00:09:07.419 --> 00:09:11.340 you to live as independently as possible for 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:15.960 as long as possible in your home. And come back 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:18.820 tomorrow for even more useful tips, insights 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:21.440 and ideas as we begin the brand new month of 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.440 March right here on the Senior Safety Advice 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:27.419 Podcast. 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