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Eldercare: Different Clothes can Help a Lot

I'm not one of those people for whom comfort is everything in clothes. But there comes a time when economy or sheer weight of clothing forces change for societies and individuals. Think of wigs, lace, blush and stockings giving way to simple suits around 1800. Women enjoyed a similar liberation around that time and around 1920. So did my parents this weekend.

My father has always dressed in jeans and a western shirt. Trouble is, he's elderly and needs help getting dressed, and jeans are hard to pull on another person. So are suspenders. Being no youngster herself, it took my mother an hour to help him get dressed Saturday morning. She said "enough!" In the interest of easy dressing, I bought Dad some basketball pants. Since western shirts don't go with basketball pants, I also got some t-shirts. I thought it was going to be a battle to get Dad to change his style, but he actually likes the new clothes. He's always like convenience, and being able to dress himself has to be a good feeling.

And surprise--his new duds look better than the old ones. (Mom says she was tired of looking at his John Deere suspenders, anyway.) It should also be easier for my mother to wash the new clothes (transfer them to the washer and dryer) since the pants are lightweight fabric, not heavy cotton. As if that weren't enough, it looks like the battle of the thermostat is over. Even though Mom told me to get long-sleeved shirts and sweat pants for Dad, I got short-sleeved t-shirts and basketball pants (which are very thin) since he's always hot and Mom is always cold. Today was the first day Dad didn't turn down the thermostat or open a window.


Comments

Lowcarb team member said…
Oh Lori fantastic. I just love this post.

There just comes a time when ease and comfort has to take control .... so to speak.

I wish your folks all the best.......and if I knew them, which I sorta do through you, please pass on my sincerest good wishes.

All the best Jan
January 27, 2014
Lori Miller said…
Thanks for the kind words, Jan. My mother reads the blog, even though she doesn't comment here.

Yes, the jeans and snap western shirts made sense when Dad was riding the range, where you can get caught in barbed wire. Now that he's retired and has some limitations, lightweight workout clothes are better.
January 27, 2014
tess said…
SO rational! "personal style" is great when you go out in public, but when you spend most of your life at home, practicality is the important thing. if one partner is always hot and the other always cold, they have to dress in a "compromise" sort of way! (saves on heating/cooling bills, too)
January 27, 2014
Lori Miller said…
Yes--and when you depend on another person, it's considerate to avoid inconveniencing them.
January 27, 2014
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