On the first morning of my vacation, my dad could not find the raisins for his oatmeal, which completely foiled his intricate, 25-minute breakfast preparation routine. He got so frustrated by the chaotic clutter of the pantry he decided to do something about it that very minute. My sister and I gave each other a look -- is he really doing this? We knew better than to stand in his way and instead provided advice, guidance and an extra set of hands as he systematically sorted an incredible amount of crackers, snacks and miscellaneous condiments. It was a pretty impressive display of determination and organizational skills, and even more impressively, it was still in order when I left two weeks later.
Pro tip: Gluten-free snacks are on the right. Just like my dad.
For Christmas, I gave my mom an index/organizing system for her purses and pocketbooks. I took pictures of all her purses, put them in album, and then printed an extra set to tie on to the storage bags in her closet, so she could see all of her options. This might not have been necessary if my mom had a normal, manageable number of purses. She does not. I am not going to name names, but whatever number you have in your head right now for normal and manageable, why don't you go ahead and double that.
Pro tip: This is a great gift for my mom, and a great gift for mom-adjacent people; in the process of indexing her collection, she found a few bags she didn't use/didn't like and decided to give them away to friends and family (me). Everyone wins.
I could have spent the whole vacation working on technology-related projects, and God only knows what my more-savvy sister could have done if she had my kind of vacation time or patience. Instead, I tackled three small issues:
1. Install Word on the house computer. Easy enough. I also created a "Pat's Word Documents" folder and left instructions on the whole "Save As" situation. Then I watched my mom type up a document and save it, just so we could both be sure she knew how to do what she needs to do.
Pro tip: Take a deep breath before you watch my mom use Word, because it's a sight to behold. She basically just uses it as typewriter. So there's no highlighting of text to change fonts or point size, there's no cut and paste. It's just type type type, return, type type type. She's not going to star in any new Microsoft commercials, but it works for her.
2. Explain the merits of the BCC option in an email, and watch my mom successfully use it. I think I had her at " a way to avoid the inadvertent reply to all," which is something she had clearly experienced.
Pro tip: Don't assume that everyone knows what BCC stands for. Blind carbon copy -- right, Mom?
3. Set up and introduce my mom to her own Kindle Fire. This was the big one. My dad had an extra Kindle (or two) that he wasn't using and graciously agreed to give it to my mom. I figured out how to uninstall his email account and add hers, along with her contacts. I then showed her some basics (how to check her email, how to shop on Amazon), and watched her get going. She's going to be great. Remember, Mom: use it every day and read your Users Guide. It's not difficult, it's just different.
Pro tip: Let's get real -- no matter how many bells and whistles you show her, or what kind of tasks you suggest she practice, the first and only thing that matters to my mom about her new Kindle Fire is getting a fancy case for it. My dad had a very basic black rubber case, which was perfectly fine, but I could tell it was really bothering her. I suggested she use her Kindle for a little bit to figure out what kind of case she might like. I showed her different apps, how to download a book, change the text size, search on the web and whole bunch of other stuff that I am sure she never even heard me say because she was determined to get a new, cute case. She had the thing for all of two days before she had a special colorful case ordered. Don't mess with my mom.
Shout out to my sister: during her much briefer visit she organized and labeled my dad's very serious cereal situation and helped him successfully send a color picture to Walgreens for printing and pick up. I liked doing all of these things for my parents. I mean, I am never, ever going to be able to tip the scales: they've done and do so much to make my life easier and better that there's literally nothing I can do to attempt to even that score. But, if I can bring my dad closer to his gluten-free snacks or help my mom find that red quilted bag that she forgot she even owned, than at least I am being a good house guest. Hopefully, they'll invite me back.
Source: http://obstructed-view.blogspot.com/2013/01/home-improvement.html
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