I am staying with my father with my twins this weekend.
I heard the twins all excited that he was making them pancakes with syrup....then I remembered that we didn't have any syrup.
I went into the kitchen, and to my horror, my father "found" an OPENED bottle of log cabin syrup in the pantry....that had to have been 10 years old or better.
He threw a fit that "sugar doesn't spoil", and I told him under no circumstances was he giving my kids that syrup....he's 80 years old.
I found some strawberry jelly in the fridge, and warmed it up, and we used that and the kids loved it.
He even put some on his finger and said, "See! Still tastes the same!"
I told him, "you can do that to yourself, but you are not feeding my kids food that is twice their age".
Oh, I love this thread! What wonderful thoughts and memories of my parents and my in-laws!
My father-in-law, who lived with us for 7 or 8 years, died a year and a half ago. When we were cleaning his room..........oh my gosh!! The stuff he saved. The most interesting thing we found was a shoebox FULL of (cooked) bacon in the cupboard under the bathroom sink. Whenever we'd go out for breakfast, usually on weekends, he'd order the bacon, but never ate it. Wrapped it in a paper napkin (wouldn't take a box from the waitress- he liked that greasy old napkin), and took it home for his doggie. Some of it may have been a year old or more. Apparently it didn't hurt the dog, although he died soon after Dad did.
The bottom line is; the fact that he is 80 makes him wiser than anyone you'll ever meet (unless they are around his age). It is the young people, like me at 45, who would be "dumb" if we didn't open our ears and listen to what these wise, older people have to say to us. Does he have dementia or does he have all his faculties? Are you considering this when you interact with him?
I am a male nurse. And males have egoes - big ones. We are hard to control. That's just a fact of life and because he is 80 does not change that.
In my opinion, you have every right to tell your dad what you want your children to eat or not eat. And you can, without anger, put your foot down (they are your children after all). But to belittle him in the process is just going to make him angry.
As a nurse, it burns me up to see how old people are treated these days....... especially in Long Term home care. Can you imagine being 75 years old and having all your faculties........... and someone who is 20 years old is treating you like a child and directing every aspect of your life? Why do you think old people refuse to take their medicine? Because it is the ONLY thing they have controll over in their lives - keeping their mouths closed. You have to be patient with older people. They do everythig slow....... including gathering their thoughts. Give your dad a break.
I entered a room once where the Aid and a Nurse were arguing with an old man with dementia. The Patient was very very aggitated. I asked the nurse and aid to leave the room so I can talk to the elderly patient. Then I asked, "What is upsetting you?"
The patient told me " I'm angry because those idiots who were just in here are telling me I'm seeing things." So I asked, " Can you point to me what it is they are telling you isn't there?" And he said, "That waterfall right there." And I said, " You mean the one comming out of the picture?" Then he says (with enthusiasm) "YES that one!" Then I said, "Well, I don't know what those two are talking about, but that is just about the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen."
Then the old man smiled at me and said, "That's what I was trying to show them........ it is beautiful isn't it?" And I say, " Yes, I agree, it sure is beautiful. Can you hear it too?"
And he said, "Yes, it's one of my favorite sounds." And I said, "I could fall asleep listening to a waterfall...........it's like listening to the ocean don't you think?"
He said, "Yes, it's peacefull."
Now the man is calm and happy. I ask him if there's anything I can do for him. And he says, "No, I'm going to go to sleep."
Sometime you have to put being "right" aside and just enter their world. In most cases it works better than any medicine you can give them.
As far as orienting them.............. do that after you calm them down by being in their world with them for a little while. In many cases there is a small part of the mind that is still "there". And when you tell them they are seeing things......... the part of the mind that is "there" gets upset.
No old people = no young people..........give them all a break.
I wonder just what kind of preservatives went into that syrup. I have had maple syrup go moldy before.
not sure about the "fake" syrups, but maple syrup doesnt mold, what does mold is the layer of water diluted syrup on top of the syrup....when it is processed it is bottled/canned hot so forms a small amount of condensate....which also happens when you heat it and return it to the container and the refregerator....this thin layer is not concentrated enough to prevent mold growth. The above posters are correct, simple scrape it off and reheat before use
My grandmother's "germ theory" : If you don't believe in them, they can't hurt you. The logic here - when she was a young girl they would go to "camp meeting" leaving the covered dish dinner food out on a long table then go into church and listen to the preacher - "who didn't preach for just a little while either - he could go for hours!", then go out and eat that food "and no one ever died of it" because they didn't know about germs. Seemed to work for her - she lived to be 89 and died of a stroke, not an infection!
That generation made it through a much harder economic situation than we have ever experienced - this may be the time to remember what they have told us.
Oh, and my father's "cure-all" was Absorbine Jr. - anyone know what that is really for? (And was there ever an Absorbine Sr.?)
My grandmother's cure all is Vaseline. If you have an arthritic limb or sprained joint. She spreads .the pain away within an hour.
By the way, the only food that doesn't spoil is honey. There have been pottery jars of honey found in the pyramids that are perfectly fine (well, a little crystalized).
My grandfather raised pigs. The local grocery store would give him all their spoiled meats and produce for the pigs. If he thought it wasn't quite spoiled yet, he'd bring it home and my grandmother would cut of the bad bits and cook it up.
Then the leftovers would stay out until supper and they'd eat them then. I guess their stomachs were made of cast iron, because it never bothered them.
This thread should be renamed "How to convince people of certain things". Young or old, we all are set in our ways, some of them right and many of them wrong, at least in the eyes of someone else. We all get upset if someone tells us we are doing something wrong when we believe it is right. Quit picking on the elderly, they are human just like us.
When my mother died, I took the opportunity to clean all the antique food out of the kitchen. My dad had been living out of the microwave and was likely to continue doing so, so there was a lot of stuff to go.
I found a big box of cereal of indeterminate age on the shelf and was getting ready to toss it, but he objected that cereal was still going to be good and grabbed the box from me. The biggest Florida cockroach I've ever seen scuttled out of the box and up his arm.
The look on his face was absolutely priceless and I've never seen an oldster shut up more quickly than he did!
It's easy to get through to octogenarians with a little help.
While working in Assisted Living a few years ago, We had an 89 yr young resident from Norway that would always take her milk from the dining room table into her room. She had the heat turned up to 80o year round. When the staff would take the milk out of her room, she would get very, very upset. We then inquired and learned from her daughter that years ago, Maria survived on milk that was soured and was just eating what she was used to. We then received an order from the Dr. for her to have the sour milk in her room (She added a packet of sugar and ate it with a spoon). This kept her happy for the last 2 years of her life, released the home from all liability with the Board of Health, and kept peace with Maria and staff. God Bless the Elderly... :redbeathe
I am staying with my father with my twins this weekend.
I heard the twins all excited that he was making them pancakes with syrup....then I remembered that we didn't have any syrup.
I went into the kitchen, and to my horror, my father "found" an OPENED bottle of log cabin syrup in the pantry....that had to have been 10 years old or better.
He threw a fit that "sugar doesn't spoil", and I told him under no circumstances was he giving my kids that syrup....he's 80 years old.
I found some strawberry jelly in the fridge, and warmed it up, and we used that and the kids loved it.
He even put some on his finger and said, "See! Still tastes the same!"
I told him, "you can do that to yourself, but you are not feeding my kids food that is twice their age".
How can he be so dumb?
my DH will eat anything as long as its not moldy no matter how old lol. i dont know how he can do it - they dont get sick - maybe from doing it so long they are immune to the bugs and gross stuff lol.
rn/writer, RN
9 Articles; 4,168 Posts
Wonder what would happen if you mixed Vick's and Windex?