Hey everyone, welcome to the Senior Safety Advice
Daily podcast. Today we're going to talk about
It's the end of month reflection for February
of 2026. And as I've been saying all month, February
is heart health and emotional resilience month.
I'm Esther Kane, a retired occupational therapist
and a certified aging in place specialist and
a dementia care specialist as well. So The theme
for this end of month reflection for February
of 26 is love as a lifeline. Because when I look
back over the past month, all the topics that
we've talked about, heart health, stress, connection,
sleep, laughter. They all circle back to one
thing and that one thing is love. Not the big
dramatic kind, you know, not the movie version,
which we all know really isn't real, but the
quiet steady kind. The kind that shows up in
small ways most every day. Things like checking
in on each other, cooking a meal for a neighbor,
a friend, a loved one. fixing a loose rug, or
just fixing things without being asked to fix
things. Sitting with someone when words aren't
needed. That kind of love keeps people going.
I've seen it my whole career. People don't just
survive on medication and routines. They survive
on being cared about. And here's something that
I've noticed over my years of caring for my own
parents and caring for my patients as an occupational
therapist is that when love is present, the body
does better. And I'm going to go a step further
and say that the body and the mind do better.
People can tend to heal faster, they tend to
cope better, and they tend to feel safer. And
let's face it, safety is everything. And love
definitely creates safety. It tells the nervous
system, you're not alone, you matter, someone
sees you, and everything is going to be okay.
And when the body feels that, The heart softens,
the breath slows down, and tension tends to ease.
It's not sentimental, it's biological. I've seen
seniors who were declining start to stabilize,
not because of a new treatment, but because someone
showed up consistently. Anything like a daughter
calling every day, or a son, a neighbor stopping
by, a caregiver who listened to a story, paid
attention. Love changed that trajectory. And
I've seen caregivers survive incredibly hard
seasons, not because they were superhuman, but
because love gave them a reason to keep going.
If they can find the love for a parent, the love
for a spouse, the love by a spouse, and love
for family. But here's something that I think
is very important with this topic. Love can be
a lifeline for you, your loved ones, and your
family, especially for family caregivers. So
many family caregivers pour love outward and
forget that they're allowed to receive it too.
They end up running on empty. They push, push,
push through situations on a daily basis. They
tell themselves things like they'll rest later.
But love doesn't ask you to disappear. Real love
includes care for yourself. I've seen family
caregivers reach breaking points to the point
where they became physically ill, mentally ill,
where they became incapable of caring for their
loved one. And that is not what family caregiving
should end up. being because it serves no one.
And it's not because, and they didn't give up
because they didn't care enough. They gave up
because they cared too much for the other person,
but not enough for themselves. And also, let's
face it, a lot of family caregivers do the caring
without support. and support by others. I don't
care if it's your neighbors, if it's your friends,
but I mean better if it's your family, but that
doesn't always happen. But support is love as
well. Letting someone help, letting someone listen,
letting yourself rest. That's why I'm such a
big proponent of respite care. It's so important.
And it's not being weak. It's sustainability.
It's taking care of yourself so that you can
continue caring for your loved one. So as we
close out this month, I want to invite you to
reflect gently, not with judgment, not with a
to -do list, just reflection. Where did love
show up for you this month? Maybe it was very
obvious. Maybe you could see it. Maybe it was
very subtle Maybe you came home and the living
room was vacuumed maybe you took your elderly
mother to the doctor's appointment and on the
way back she offered to buy you lunch somewhere.
I mean, it could be anything. Maybe it could
be just a moment of laughter. Let's spend some
time watching this comedian or a funny movie,
a shared meal, a kind word, a friend who stopped
by just to stop by to see how you're doing and
they brought you a pie or a cake. All of those
things are love. And then where did you offer
love? To someone else? Probably a lot. but to
yourself. And for seniors too, where did you
offer love to someone else and where did you
offer it to yourself? Even small moments matter.
Love doesn't have to be perfect. It's not about
perfection. It can be so powerful in the smallest
ways. Sometimes love can even look like memory,
remembering someone who mattered, remembering
a time that you felt supported. That memory can
still calm the body. The nervous system remembers
that sense of safety and that safety helps keep
people going. So as this month ends, I want you
to know you don't have to carry everything alone.
If you're caring for someone, your love matters.
If you're living alone, your need for connection
matters. If you're tired, your rest matters.
Love is not just something you give, it's something
you deserve, and it can show up in very small
ways. It can be a pause, a breath, a moment of
kindness towards yourself. Those are lifelines.
And as we head into a new month, where spring
is often beginning for some places, you don't
need a big plan. Just stay open to small moments
of care, because those moments really add up.
They steady the heart, calm the nervous system,
and remind us why we keep going. Love doesn't
fix everything. Lord knows that. But it carries
us through. And sometimes that's exactly all
that we need. Well, it's been a great month,
February. I want to thank you again for being
here with me. If today's episode gave you some
useful insights or new ideas, then please share
it with someone who you think might find it helpful
as well. You can discover even more expert tips
and helpful guides for seniors and caregivers
at seniorsafetyadvice .com. And you can get a
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kinds of services and products that can help
you to live as independently as possible for
as long as possible in your home. And come back
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and ideas as we begin the brand new month of
March right here on the Senior Safety Advice
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So until next time, take care of yourself and
the ones that you love.