There is so much to do outdoors and in the community during the summer. Summer concerts, plays, and outdoor markets abound in city neighborhoods. With extended daylight hours and entertainment options, it is a great idea to bring your senior outdoors safely to enjoy the summer bounty.
Gardening brings your senior outdoors and gives her more sun and vitamin D. A container garden on a deck, patio, or balcony railing will be fun and help her avoid bending. Raised beds and window boxes are a good idea. Nurturing is always good for body and soul.
Do the shopping differently. Get produce and homemade delicacies from your local farmer’s market. Your senior will enjoy the sights, action, and friendliness at the location. If you get there very early, you can watch the farmers unload and set up their stands. They love to share recipes and chat with customers. Have breakfast al fresco from the morning’s offerings and buy some fruit, veggies, and gourmet items for home. Don’t forget that the medications must be factored in and taken by your senior at the same time as usual.
Bring along an umbrella to reduce sun exposure. Spray with sunscreen and bug spray. Buy drinks so the senior doesn’t get dehydrated.
Cool off at the library and use the bathrooms there. Then you can head homewards for an afternoon siesta. You don’t want to be out in the midday sun. And you want to be ready for the evening’s entertainment.
Check the internet for free concerts, movies, and music performances in the local parks. Get there early and enjoy a picnic before the show begins. Your senior will enjoy the company of kids and families before the scheduled show. Moreover, you will get a good space for the lawn chair or wheelchair with good sightlines. Rushing a senior is never fun nor safe. Make sure to give plenty of time to get there and settle in.
It’s a good idea to post a calendar on the wall with all the neighborhood events and rain dates so that you don’t miss any. Alongside it, post a list of things you want to remember to take along: drinks, sunhat, sunscreen, keys, book, sweater (for evening events), wipes, and snacks.
If your senior is interested and mobile, taking the NY Waterway and city ferries for a low cost excursion. Even if you just take a trip to Manhattan and back for $2.75, your senior will see all the new buildings and views he may have missed in recent years. Of course, there are trips to recently developed areas like Long Island City, DUMBO, Governors Island, and North Williamsburg, which offer great well-maintained parks right at the ferry ports. The trips can be taken indoors with maximum views and minimum wind exposure on the main indoor decks.
Ferry Trips to Hoboken and Jersey City will usually be limited to weekdays and you will have to get your senior to the terminals. However, you will all enjoy the newly developed mixed-use environments there and the views of the Hudson waterfront. It just takes some planning.
Why not turn one day a week when there are no scheduled medical appointments into a weekly trip day? Plan the trips. Mark the calendar. And watch your senior perk up with anticipation of an outing beyond the neighborhood. S/he will certainly want to talk about excursions from earlier times to these very same places. Encourage your senior to reminisce and discuss past and present changes and looks. Get her talking by getting her walking.
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