MAKING
THE MOMENTS COUNT:Illness, disability, and life difficulties of all kinds complicate leisure time and activity for both the caregiver and the person being cared for. Yet, it is when life is difficult that we are most desperate for joy, laughter, and peace of mind.
This book is designed to help both those needing care and those providing that care by offering simple leisure-time tools to use along the way. It is a valuable resource for professional caregivers and volunteers, and for family and friends who provide care for a loved one, whether in the home or in an institutional setting.
Drawing on the latest research in caregiving and leisure, Joanne Ardolf Decker shows how family members or professional caregivers can first assess a person's interests and then plan and carry out meaningful activities that suit the person. The book is an engaging guide to bringing the restorative benefits of leisure into the most restrained situations.
This book also includes discussion on how caregivers can care for their own health and welfare through meaningful leisure moments. Caregiver support groups will find a great deal of information that lends itself to group discussion and practical assistance in managing time and stress issues related to caregiving.
This book can be ordered directly from Johns Hopkins University Press by calling: 1-800-537-5487;
price: $14.95 for paperback copy; $29.95 for hardback copy.
When my brother Gene was dying from cancer and our family moved into his home to help his wife and daughters care for him, I noticed how precious were the moments when we shared with him a laugh, a poem, snapshots, a memory, a look out the window, a prayer. Those are the moments that last in our memories, now that he is no longer with us.
It seems to me that when all is said and done, it is the memories that come from well-spent moments, large or small, that linger as life's ongoing pleasures.
As a therapeutic recreation specialist I have seen firsthand the value of leisure activities in making life's moments count. I recall using art materials and activities to lure Lorraine, a deeply depressed teenager, out of her bed, out of her room, and eventually into counseling; playing Ervin's favorite hymns on the piano each afternoon to entice him into the group where eventually he sang solos; hearing Evelyn speak for the first time in a year when a friend brought a small puppy to sit on her lap and lick her hand; watching Violet's face glow with delight while we arranged fresh lilacs in a vase, sniffed deeply the flowers' fragrance, and reminisced about her flower gardens. Such moments bring joy to those involved and make a difference in their lives. Although it is often difficult to prove by means of research data precisely what benefits people gain from such activities, their expressions tell the story of moments that count.
I am a retired professor of Therapeutic Recreation at Mankato State University, Mankato, Minnesota, where I taught for 20 years following years of service as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist working with people of all ages in mental health treatment, people with physical disabilities, and older people with chronic illnesses.
My academic background includes a B.A. degree in art and secondary education from the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota; a M.A. degree from in Recreation and Park Administration from the University of Minnesota; graduate course work in leisure studies and therapeutic recreation at Teachers College, Columbia University; and my Ph.D. in higher education and therapeutic recreation from the University of Minnesota.
My own leisure pursuits include gardening, arranging flowers, reading, drawing, writing poetry, dancing, and clowning. My wonderful husband-friend Jim and I live on a spacious plot of land south of Mankato, Minnesota, where we enjoy the birds, hiking in the woods, raising flowers and vegetables, and having bon fires on cool evenings.
MAKING THE MOMENTS COUNT is the title I give to talks and workshops that I give directly related to my book. I have been told that, in my workshops, I make my book come alive with its good ideas for people in a wide variety of caregiving situations. I like to emphasize the importance of using simple, every-day experiences to bring joy to caregivers and those receiving care.
My workshops on this topic can range in length from an hour or two to full-day workshops.
Short talks focus on the importance of leisure moments in caregiving -- both for the caregiver and for the one receiving care. I also include simple, every-day activity ideas that can be adapted to individual situations. I discuss the importance of assessing a person's interests and capitalizing on those interests to plan truly meaningful activity. I emphasize the benefits of physical, intellectual, expressive, social, and spiritual activities to stimulate the whole person, and give many examples of just how to do that.
In longer workshops, I include the short workshop topics and add actual demonstration of ideas related to reminiscence and sensory stimulation. My longer workshops lend themselves to more interaction, giving participants opportunity to ask questions and individually apply information to their particular caregiving situations.
LIGHTER, BRIGHTER LIVING is the title I give to my talks and workshops which focus on leisure wellness as a healthful approach to balanced living. I gear the information to the particular audience, (depending on age, life roles and interests, etc.) and emphasize leisure's role in living life to the fullest. Subtopics include leisure and time management, money management, stress management; leisure without guilt; playing every day in a simple way; finding inner peace in our outer world; enhancing relationships through leisure.
Date Created: April 01, 1998
Last Modified: May 19, 1998
Modified by JAD & MRT