Since I was a little girl, my mom has been one of the most remarkable people I know. She raised three crazy kids (me included), kept my father out of trouble (not an easy task) and was in control of our household at all times. From my earliest memories I fondly remember her constantly being on the move and keeping things running smoothly. Too bad those days can’t last forever.

My mom is now retired, and unfortunately my dad passed away a few years ago. So now her life has changed completely with no family to care for. She spends a lot of her time just sitting home alone trying to pass the time. This just breaks my heart and I have been trying to get her to leave the house, take up an activity and try to interact with other people her own age. I just think her leaving that empty house once in awhile will be the best thing for her to do. So, that has been my goal.

My mom is great and will watch her grand kids whenever she is asked. The kids just adore “Nona” and she thinks the world of them, and of course spoils them rotten when she is around them. That helps kill a little of her empty time, and she does go out with them to the mall, the park and anywhere they want to go. This helps get her out of the house for a brief time, but she still needs to do more.

I’ve made some suggestions on how to get out and socialize with people her own age. She is lucky that she has a great senior citizen center about 5 minutes away from her home. They have a lot of activities and social events for seniors and I have been pushing her to try and go to some. She has gone to a few events there, and she is thinking about going on a bus trip to see a show. I’m hoping she goes, and I even offered to pay the cost.

In looking for information to share with her, I’ve found a number of useful activities that she can do. These are all activities that she can easily do and some ever can help her meet and interact with others. Some of the ideas I found are:

• Take a yoga class
• Start a hobby like birdwatching, stamp collecting or sewing
• Do crossword or other puzzles to keep your mind sharp
• Swimming
• Walking
• Take a class at the local Community College

There are a number of things that seniors can do to help keep them active by proving mental or physical exercise. Many of the activities are things that my mom and other senior citizens used to do, but just stopped doing. In fact, in talking with my mom, she has always loved photography and she always had the best pictures of our family. While she was never a professional photographer, she was good and enjoyed taking pictures. This gave me a great idea. My school has several after school programs, and I convinced my mom to help out with a photography club. While the kids will only be using phones for pictures, mom can at least give them some pointers on how to take better pictures. Watch out, there will be some great looking selfies coming out this fall around here!

I’m now always on the lookout for activities that my mom can do. I got some great ideas online and here are a few that were helpful to me: Fun Activities for Seniors, Senior Citizen Activities and Senior Citizen Fun Activities. If you have any suggestions on how to help keep my mom active, I’d like to hear them. Thanks!