Uncharmed Life

Travelling is always fun. Not only is it a good way to relax and unwind, going out to see spectacular sights can also be a great way to enjoy quality time with the family. But what if your family includes senior citizens, whose already frail bodies may not be advisable for travel?

Leaving grandpa and grandma at home while the rest of the family goes out for fun is a bad, bad idea. So that nobody is left behind, here are few tips that you can use when travelling with seniors.

See the Doctor First

Seniors should set a check-up meeting with their doctors before they go on travel. This is to ensure that they are on right physical well-being to endure the rough works that are sure to happen during the trip. It is best to see the doctor a week before the schedule trip so that the physician may administer whatever medications that will prepare the seniors’ body for the trip.

Bring Enough Medication, Miscellaneous Items

Take all the necessary medications with you during the trip. Medications for headache, motion sickness, colds and flu are the most important ones to bring. Of course, when your grandparents are taking maintenance medications such as those for hypertension, bring these along as well. Also, bring enough drinking water, although this can usually be availed in any destination. Most importantly, do not forget your first aid kit!

Always be on the Lookout!

Just because they’re seniors doesn’t mean they should fend for themselves during the trip! You, their child or grandchild, should always be on the lookout for grandma and grandpa the whole time. Assist them when boarding and alighting vehicles, and most especially when taking long walks.

I have family all over the world. My brother lives in the US, my sister lives in Canada and my cousins live in Cape Town. It’s always good when I want to go on holiday but can’t afford expensive accommodation, but it means we all have to work a little bit harder to stay in touch. It’s not as easy as picking up the phone anymore; things need to be planned and scheduled around our days and the different time zones.

Recently, it was my cousin’s 40^th birthday, and I wanted to find a way to show them I was thinking about them. As it was a significant birthday, I didn’t think that an email would cut it. A card would have been fine for any other birthday, but not one of the important milestones. For this reason, I decided to bite the bullet and send over a gift.

I’ve always been a bit apprehensive about the idea of sending parcels abroad. I always imagine it getting lost or damaged in transit, and being a waste of money and disappointing for the recipient. However, as it was a big birthday, I thought it was about time I got over my concerns and made the effort to give my cousin a special day.

Obviously I didn’t want to send anything too big or heavy which would crank up the price of postage costs, but equally I wanted it to be something I knew she’d like. I considered jewellery, but I thought that this might be risky, as if it did go missing it’d be a pricey loss. Instead I thought I’d go for something thoughtful but replaceable. That’s when I remembered how much she loved writing. I ordered her a beautiful leather-bound notebook and a nice fountain pen and got it all prepared.

I put some extra cardboard around the notebook so it wouldn’t get bent in transit and I wrapped the pen in lots of bubblewrap in case the ink leaked, which would’ve ruined the present. Thankfully there was nothing fragile which needed special attention, but I was still worried that it might not arrive or wouldn’t be looking its best by the time it reached South Africa.

A couple of weeks later, I found an email sitting in my inbox from my cousin. Attached were some photos of her writing her first words in her new notebook with a thank you note. She loved it! We even managed to arrange time for a quick video chat so I could wish her a happy birthday virtually, which was great fun. I’m so glad everything went smoothly, and I can’t wait for the next birthday!