May 2015
Dear Friends,
Lots in Bloom!
ROBIN HOOD REDUX: MLRC CARE CONFERENCE 2015
80% of long-term-care services are provided by (often unpaid) family caregivers in the U.S.A. Many in this population do not have access to the latest and greatest conference presentations due to barriers financial, geographical, physical, or otherwise. I write a summary of my experience and learnings after conferences I attend as a caring service for caregivers who did not, and as a consciousness-raising for many more. Let there be light!
Robin Hood Redux: MLRC CARE Conference 2015: About
Robin Hood Redux: MLRC CARE Conference 2015: Morning
Robin Hood Redux: MLRC CARE Conference 2015: Workshops and Resources
KIOSK BECOMES A CATALYST FOR CONVERSATION
"What are you guys doing?" is the question we've heard from people stopping by to read our Trailhead Kiosk, installed April 19 (initial information posted May 1) to honor my mom, Margaret, and invite a conversation with our neighbors. So far, we've met two neighbors who live a short walk-away: a daughter caring for her aging parents, and a builder of our local rails-to-trails project. Just yesterday we also met a young man, his wife and two children from Boston's South Shore... he shared that his father now lives with Alzheimer's/Dementia.
SUNDAY STROLLS OFFERS a MEMORY CAFE
This past Mother's Day, 2015, we invited local neighbors experiencing memory changes and their care partners to connect with us and other friends impacted, from 11am - 2pm, during our "Sunday Strolls" private invitation for friends with disabilities. One family came and was happy to have a local touch-point to ask a few questions and feel not-so-alone. This program is in pilot-stage for this 2015 growing season. The next Sunday Stroll/Memory Cafe is Father's Day, June 21, 11am - 2pm. Please RSVP (call me!) if you plan to come, as we have limited parking and can accommodate only up to 10 cars.
ACCESSIBLE GARDEN PRIVATE TOURS MAY-OCT
The 0.1 mile MargFMac Front Garden Loop at our home, Rest.Stop.Ranch, built in 2011, that we continually refine and improve, is getting better and better each year! It is our generative joy and we are thrilled to share it with people using wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers, and their caregivers. Not yet open to the public, we welcome individuals, couples, families, and small groups to experience the garden via private tours. Contact me via e-mail (see contact info below) to arrange a private tour May-October.
Learn more about our accessible-gardens work-in-progress >
Moving forward with a listening heart,
vision, inquiry, and action,
~ Mary
email: mary@marymacmissions.com
mobile: 978-887-4202
local: 202 Haverhill Road, Topsfield, MA 01983
global: marymacmissions.com
P.S. Support a Family-With-Dementia
Consider how you might support- this week or next - a nearby family-with-dementia you know.
- Might you invite someone with dementia to your home for a cup of tea?
- Might you provide an hour of respite for a weary caregiver?
- Might you lend a hand with a maintenance job around their home?
Note: I am available for speaking, training, and retreat engagements. Please e-mail me to discuss your future planning (caregiver support groups and conferences, professional meetings and continuing education, and day/weekend retreats).
In the Garden...
Shown above: Kiosk design installed May 1, at our home, Rest.Stop.Ranch, a Mother's Day Memorial and ongoing Trailhead Tribute to mom, Margaret Fraser MacDonald, d. 2008.
Our Practice
Please click on one of the images below to learn more about how we rest, dance, and pray with the long-term-care topic:
You are receiving this email because you are a friend, a subscriber, a programs participant, a professional who serves families affected by Alzheimer's or other long-term illnesses, a spiritual leader who counsels families affected by long-term illness, a team member, supplier, partner, mentor, or advisor who is helping to grow the social enterprise Marymac Missions, and/or a social change leader. Please feel free to unsubscribe at any time or change your subscription preferences using the links at the bottom of this email. Please share with family and friends now journeying with long-term illness who may benefit.
our vision:
Care givers and receivers feel and know the presence of caring communitee companions throughout and beyond the long-term-care journey; they are empowered to love themselves and each other in balanced ways; they experience universal comfort, respite and recreation in local natural places of hospitality.
our values:
Creative, Accessible, Sustainable
our mission statement:
Champions for caregivers and adults living with extended illness, we: meet people where they are (locally, financially, physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually); provide positive experiences, strategies, practices, coping methods and skills through the cycle of health, illness, loss, recovery and renewal; raise public awareness and facilitate communitee alliances between individuals, families, businesses and communitee organizations to reach, include and care for care givers and receivers who become marginalized because of the systemic effects of illness; lead and participate in research that aims to understand the effectiveness of care giver and receiver health programs; support research that aims to illuminate and eliminate the root causes of disease; and adapt to best serve current care giver and receiver needs.
