Broaching the topic of your future care with adult children can be awkward and difficult for both parties. Each may feel a bit of denial about the realities of aging. For the elder loved one, it’s that they are no longer as independent as they’ve always been or considered themselves to be, and for the adult children, it’s that their parents still exist in their minds as strong, self-reliant figures, and this image is being turned on its head.

Here are some topics to touch on with your children when you decide it’s time to share your thoughts about your future care.

Health:

Educate your children on the reality of the current state of your health and what you know about the trajectory of your health in the near future. Perhaps you are still in good health but are planning for the future. However, if your health or independence has begun to decline, this may be a good time to share it, especially if it could be hereditary. It can be jarring to learn that a parent is no longer completely healthy, so make sure the conversation is open, answer any questions, and consider providing resources for your children to learn more.

Living Arrangements:

If you have already made arrangements to move into a retirement community or even an assisted living community, tell your children about how and when you came to this decision. Keep in mind: They may be blindsided but also potentially pleased by aspects of the conversation, including the idea that they will not be your caretaker as they may have anticipated. Share informational materials about the community with them and let them know why you are excited about this place. This move could alter how you currently spend time with your family, so discuss how visiting will work now. Let them know that this decision will free the family up to focus on the most important things without having to worry about potential care needs. If you haven’t yet made solid plans, ask your children for their opinions and ideas about your future care.

Future Care Wishes:

This can be a hard conversation to have, but it is important to discuss end-of-life choices and other related official matters. Discuss long-term care, your will (if this applies), and how to handle medical decisions if it becomes pertinent. Again, this can be a delicate topic for adult children to discuss with their parents, so keep the conversation light and candid. Let them know that you are not discussing this because it is relevant at the current moment, but because it is relevant for your future as you plan out your aging process.

We want your family to be a part of the most important conversation; your future! Our team is happy to discuss with you and your loved ones the details of your plan for successful aging at Beatitudes and are happy to provide resources, such as brochures, pricing, services and amenities. We would be delighted to give your family a virtual tour of our campus and your potential new home.

To learn more about your vibrant senior living options at Beatitudes Campus, call us today at 602.883.1358 or contact us online at BeatitudesCampus.org.

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Whatever you call it — downsizing, rightsizing or KonMari — simplifying and organizing your belongings offers tremendous benefits, from financial advantages and less maintenance to energy efficiency and greater happiness.

Making your surroundings fit what matters most to you is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and your family. But, as we all know, sorting through a lifetime of accumulated stuff isn’t easy. That’s why we’re offering some simple tips and tricks for downsizing to help you on your way.

Where Do You Begin?

Start sooner rather than later. Moving in general is a busy time. It doesn’t matter whether you’re moving in a month or thinking about five years from now. Start the process of downsizing now before you add the stress of a move. Starting long before a move is in your sight is even better. Whether you’re 45 or 75, you’ll immediately benefit from all that streamlining and simplifying.
Moving takes good planning. Prepare for it as you would any other important experience in your life such as going to college, getting married, starting a business and retiring. Senior living expert Brad Breeding offers a few important issues to consider as you go through the process, including understanding that you can’t keep everything and your kids may not want your stuff.
Accept your emotions. Your belongings have become a part of your life and your memories. While culling the clutter can feel incredibly freeing, it can also bring up emotions akin to grieving. As you’re sorting through it all, let the laughter, tears and memories flow. For the things you won’t be keeping, take photos to help you recall those special memories anytime.
Downsizing is also a gift to your family. Although they may not realize it now, you’re relieving your children of the future responsibility and burden of culling through your belongings. Take all of their comments — good and bad — in stride. Their opinions are important, but this is your life and your choice.
Think of downsizing as a new beginning. When your belongings and space realistically fit your current lifestyle, your world opens up to new possibilities. For starters, less maintenance, more money, more time and more energy add up to more me-time for traveling, exploring your interests, and visiting friends and family. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can savor it all.

Making Your Move

So you’ve conquered downsizing your stuff and now you’re ready to choose a new downsized space that matches your lifestyle? There are additional factors to consider beyond the size of the floor plan—so you can make the best decision for you.

Consider The Importance of:

Having a strong social network of friends
Finding purpose and fulfillment
Taking care of my mind, body and spirit
Having quality health care available if I need it
Having predictable living expenses
Making my own choices
Feeling true peace of mind about the future
Protecting my estate for my loved ones
Not burdening my family with becoming my caregiver

As you evaluate your options, we invite you to explore Beatitudes Campus. You’ll discover a vibrant community of friendly neighbors who share your interests. Plus, you’ll enjoy an array of convenient services that make life easier as well as amenities, learning programs and volunteer opportunities that bring a rewarding sense of fulfillment and purpose. Best of all, our attentive, caring staff and 5-star health services provide the ultimate peace of mind today and in the future.

We’re Here for You

To ensure your move goes as smoothly as possible, we’ve partnered with Moving Station® to bring you expert moving advice and coordination through their Moving Made Easy® program at no cost. It’s our gift to you.

As part of the program, you’ll have a Personal Relocation Manager with you every step of the way. They’ll answer your questions and help you find trusted resources for selling your home for the best price, organizing and downsizing your belongings, planning your move and more.

To learn more about Beatitudes Campus and our free moving program, call us today at 602.883.1358 or contact us online at BeatitudesCampus.org.

At the heart of any great community is a thriving, active resident population. With opportunities to laugh, to learn and to lead, people flourish, nowhere is this truer than at Beatitudes Campus. We’re deeply proud of how engaging our community is and especially grateful to share it with others.

We’re pleased to announce that Beatitudes Campus recently received the Holleran Choice Community Award for Independent Living Engagement. The honor recognizes the most engaging senior living organizations in the nation — where both residents and staff feel deeply and passionately engaged with their community.

To earn the award, communities had to score 85 or higher on a 100-point scale. The score was based on more than 160,000 resident and employee surveys from over 700 communities.

Top 15% of communities to create a deeply engaging atmosphere

The Holleran Choice Community Award places Beatitudes Campus in the top 15% of the hundreds of communities surveyed. It’s easy to see why.

The residents and staff at Beatitudes Campus collaborate enthusiastically every day to create an active, engaged community where everyone feels welcome to participate, contribute and truly enjoy life in a myriad of ways. Residents enjoy musical events and spiritual services, games and neighborly get-togethers, and fitness classes and clubs of all sorts.

Keep On Learning—It’s Good For You!

Throughout our lives, we’re teachers and learners. It doesn’t just stop when we reach a certain age. In fact, it often increases when we get older and have more free time. As we celebrate a new year, it’s exciting to think about the new opportunities that await us. Did you know that beyond increasing our knowledge, learning is actually good for our health?

Lifelong learning programs are growing all over the world, according to Pass It On, an international grassroots organization that promotes teaching and learning opportunities for older adults. In many countries, it’s common for older adults to attend classes alongside younger students. The topics range from the serious—law, politics, science, and technology—to the fun and entertaining—fashion, belly dancing, music, and art.

When it comes to lifelong learning, experts tout big benefits, from generating new neuron connections in your brain to a feeling of overall well-being.

Here are more benefits that come with lifelong learning:

Better health – https://bit.ly/31obxhK
Better memory – https://bbc.in/2OpuM5t
Increased happiness – https://bit.ly/2UhNfEV
Improved emotional balance – https://bit.ly/2OEh1Ab

Discover lifelong learning at Beatitudes Campus
As we live longer and healthier, enjoy access to enormous amounts of information, and have myriad ways to shape the world around us, older adults are taking charge of their learning. And, it’s happening right here at Beatitudes Campus.

With traditional education, peer-to-peer learning and new experiences, it’s easy to be a part of this important growing trend. Beatitudes offers guest speaker presentations, art classes, day trips, social and entertainment opportunities and more. The topics and venues continually change to give you a rich variety of easy in, easy out learning experiences.

Meanwhile, the Beatitudes Center for Lifelong Learners offers a structured academic program akin to a college environment. Entirely managed by residents, the program features nearly two-dozen non-credit courses each semester. There are no grades or tests. The relaxed classes foster an atmosphere of learning by encouraging discussion, exploration, and understanding.

In tandem with learning, Beatitudes Campus offers the chance to pass on what you know to others through teaching and mentoring opportunities—from leading a committee to participating in our own Design Studio (the campus residents’ “think tank”) to teaching a literature course and more. Our new Life Enrichment & Activities Guide highlights these and the many other options available here on campus.

If you’re as excited as we are about the new year and looking forward to sharing what you know and learning more as you go, we invite you to visit Beatitudes Campus. To schedule your visit or request a FREE Life Enrichment & Activities Guide, call us today at (602) 833-1358 or submit a form online. We look forward to hearing from you!

Have you heard the term life enrichment? It’s used quite a bit these days by parks and recreation departments, senior living communities, and colleges. While it may bring to mind a list of activities, life enrichment isn’t adding things to do to your calendar for the sake of being busy.

A well-created life enrichment program brings joy, meaning, and a sense of purpose and belonging. It indulges your curiosity and creativity and teaches you something new. Above all, it’s good for your health.

“A fully comprehensive life enrichment program in a retirement community hits all five dimensions of wellness—emotional, social, spiritual, physical and educational,” according to LeadingAge, a well-recognized, national trade organization focused on education, advocacy and applied research in senior living, to which Beatitudes Campus has belonged for more than 40 years.

Developing a great life enrichment program is a team effort, requiring the time, talents, experience, and expertise of many people. At Beatitudes Campus, our team is comprised of several life enrichment specialists, as well as staff from a variety of areas, including fitness, transportation, and our CARECorps volunteer program.

“Collectively, we spend hundreds of hours every year ensuring residents have an abundance of opportunities to socialize, take Lifelong Learners classes, volunteer, exercise, attend special events on and off-campus, and more,” explained Director of Life Enrichment Jon Schilling, who has been with Beatitudes Campus for 11 years.

The life enrichment team at Beatitudes Campus has built its success on being:

Creative. While routines and familiarity are important, people need diversity. The team incorporates a variety of social, educational, spiritual and wellness opportunities.
Organized. It takes a well-organized team to coordinate and plan dozens of complex programs. Everyone knows their role and is empowered to make decisions for the greater good of residents.
Good Communicators. Whether it’s arranging a speaker presentation, creating a new fitness class or planning a holiday party, ongoing communication ensures that the many details are taken care of correctly and on time.
Adaptable. Even the most organized group can experience issues related to equipment, venues, weather or resident health. The team is flexible in any situation.
Collaborative. To promote the health and well-being of residents, the team understands residents’ interests as well as their strengths and limitations and chooses appropriate activities and programs. When needed, the Beatitudes’ life enrichment team collaborates with the resident, as well as their family and caregivers to ensure the best possible outcome.

Most importantly, the team follows the lead of residents.

While most senior living communities boast about their activities and amenities, only a few have a well-developed life enrichment program driven by residents themselves.

“At Beatitudes Campus, residents are integral to the process. In fact, they help manage and drive it. We listen to them, get their feedback and incorporate their ideas. Here, anyone can make an idea come to life,” said Schilling.

Before choosing a senior living community, be sure to check out its life enrichment program. Here are a few questions to consider:

What’s on the calendar? Are there a wide variety of activities and programs? Would you enjoy participating in any of the options?
Is their a life enrichment team dedicated to developing new and interesting programs? Who is on the team?
Are residents encouraged to participate in the process, provide feedback, and help develop ideas?

“At Beatitudes Campus, our team works great together. We do our best to create an environment where there are no barriers to participating,” said Schilling. “Wherever you live at Beatitudes, we want you to feel welcome at each and every program.”

To learn more about Beatitudes Campus’ extraordinary life enrichment program, call us today at (602) 833-1358 or get in touch with us online.

On October 10, World Mental Health Day reminded us all to take a deep breath and take stock in caring for our mental and emotional well-being. Beatitudes Campus joins the international community in promoting ways for you to live your best life—fulfilling, connected, and active—while encouraging you to reach out for help and support whenever you need it.

There are simple things you can do to keep your mental health on track, starting with these helpful suggestions from Mayo Clinic and the Mental Health Foundation in the United Kingdom.

Tips for caring for your mental health

Get plenty of sleep
Talk with others
Laugh more
Find a sense of purpose
Take up a hobby
Volunteer to help others
Get physically active
Manage your stress
Eat a healthy diet
Ask for professional help if you need it

Keep an open mind
Most people will experience a mental health challenge in their lifetime, according to Mayo Clinic. Not all symptoms, even the scary ones, are cause for alarm. Something as simple as a vitamin deficiency or urinary tract infection can cause mood swings and dementia-like symptoms. Talk to your doctor. Information and proper treatment can make a huge difference in your mental, emotional, and physical health.

Remember, as we get older, we experience life stressors common to all ages as well as additional stressors such as chronic pain, loneliness, and bereavement, according to the World Health Organization. So, as we age, it’s important to keep caring for ourselves holistically.

Where you live matters
Another smart suggestion is to look at where you live. How easy is it for you to get out and socialize, meet new people, volunteer, be active and eat healthy? Being able to easily do all of those things is perhaps one of the best aspects of living in a senior living community such as Beatitudes Campus.

Here, you can meet others who share your interests, take educational classes, play cards and games, volunteer your time and talents, tutor students, learn to paint and eat healthy in any of our restaurants. That’s just the beginning!

Knowing our staff takes care of everything, from housekeeping to maintenance to yard work, might relieve some of your stress and help you sleep better at night. Making friends and building real connections means you’ll enjoy a sense of belonging and always have a shoulder to lean on when you need it. Best of all, if you ever do need help with your mental health, Beatitudes Campus offers support groups, counseling, assisted living with memory support, and more.

To learn more about how Beatitudes Campus can enhance your mental, emotional, and physical well-being, call us at (602) 910-2795 or get in touch by submitting a contact form on our website.