Plan Now For Winter

Can anyone really plan for this?

On these 60-degree November days where coats are optional, it’s easy to deny what’s ahead of us. My winter clothes are packed away, my kids don’t have snow pants, and my eternal search for perfect black boots has yet to begin. But, whether we like to think about it or not, winter is coming.

Last winter was a long one for all of us, but for most of our clients, it was worse. We had snow by Thanksgiving and in January and February, we were walloped with snow almost every weekend. Clients missed necessary doctor appointments and skipped essential therapies. They stopped socializing and hunkered down—from January until May.

Fall has been kind to us, but winter won’t likely be. And if you’re older or ill, it will likely be worse. But with the gift of time we’ve been given this year, we can take steps now to make this winter better.

Make a plan now for how you’ll continue therapies and make it to doctor visits even in inclement weather. Will your physical therapist or physician come to you? Can you hire a car service or home care company to drive you there? Don’t wait until the first snowstorm to ask the question of your doctor, “What if it snows?”

Ensure you or your loved one has set up shoveling and plowing services before the first storm. Confirm these services, and make sure the plow companies know there’s someone ill or aging inside the house. Last winter, our caregivers arrived at many of our clients’ homes to find the entrances impassable. My husband drove around dropping off caregivers and shoveling out homes. Most of these homes thought they had a plow service in place when winter started. They didn’t (or the plow couldn’t get to them for several days)—not good when someone’s health is in the balance.

Put the rock salt and shovel in a prominent place now rather than digging through the garage after it’s snowed.

Make your house a better place to be. Install an automatic thermostat so you don’t wake up cold. Put lights on a timer so they come on at 4 p.m. The older we are, the more light we need—even though many of us tend to use lights less with age. People with Alzheimer’s often need even more light. Don’t allow one day of walking around in the dark. Start that habit now—not after you fall or it’s February and you’re depressed from living in the dark for three months.

Get involved in a group or find an inside activity that makes you happy and makes you socialize. Now is the time to check out the local senior center and what it has to offer—not after you’re snowed in. Motivation decreases and excuses increase as the weather gets worse. Have a plan for how you’ll get to these places even in the snow.

Make plans to look forward to—a big visit from the grandkids, a weekend away, a trip somewhere. I think booking a warm trip and looking forward to it is almost as important as actually taking it.

Find sunlight. Find the places in your house where sunlight streams in. Open those blinds, set up a temporary window seat, make sitting there a habit. I believe feeling the sun’s warmth is a year-round pathway to happiness and health.

No matter how much snow we get or how old we are, winter will likely feel cold here in New England. But with some planning and foresight, it doesn’t have to be as long, isolating, and depressing as it was for so many who were ill and aging last year.

Molly Rowe owns FirstLight Home Care with her husband, Steve Rowe, and lives in Swampscott with their two sons. FirstLight provides non-medical in-home care to adults in Swampscott, Marblehead, Nahant, Lynn, Salem, Peabody, Danvers, Beverly, and Lynnfield. For more information and help caring for your loved ones in the comfort of their own homes, please visit FirstLight’s website at www.salem.firstlighthomecare.com or contact Molly at 781-691-5755/[email protected]