2017 is almost here. 2016 is about to become a memory.

As 2016 comes to an end we want to express how thankful we are for each of you. Thanks for listening to this podcast and thanks for sharing it with others. 

In this episode Helen & Jerry reflect on the beginning of the Heart of Hospice, and share some of our plans for 2017. 

Take a look at our website to discover more of our plans for 2017 at www.theheartofhospice.com 

In this Five for Friday episode, Helen & Jerry discuss their self care calendar experiment. During the month of December and part of January, Helen put together a calendar with daily self care suggestions for body, mind and spirit. Every day we would each choose either a suggestion from the body, mind or spirit category. In a future episode we will report what the experiment taught us. 

Since it's December 23, just 2 days before the major holidays begin, we wanted to wish all of you, our listeners, a very happy holiday season. 

We know how hard it is to consistently maintain healthy self care, because we’ve had our share of bad habits. (We still do.)

In this episode Helen & Jerry share the Best and Worst of our holiday self care habits, so maybe you can learn from the mistakes we’ve made. Or maybe get some ideas on how to practice healthy self care during the holidays. 

Do you have some ideas to share with our listeners about healthy self care habits for the holidays? Send us an email at [email protected] and we would be glad to pass them along. 

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you will be notified each time a new podcast is released. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter, and we have a webpage and blog at www.theheartofhospice.com. Be sure and check it out too. 

Self care is best achieved by caring for the whole person: body, mind and spirit. Caring for the whole person is best achieved by engaging all of our 5 senses. 

Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste and Touch. 

Helen & Jerry share some ideas on how to provide self care through our 5 senses. It's particularly appropriate during the holiday season when there are so many things seeking the attention of our 5 senses, through holiday music, the smells of the season, the taste of special holiday food, the holiday lights that vie for our attention, and the even the feel of the season around a holiday fire, or wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. 

The purpose of this Five for Friday is to inspire you to look for ways that you can provide self care that's individualized for you, ways that can engage all of who you are, and how you engage with the world around you during the holiday season. 

For more tips related to self care at the holidays, be sure and visit our website at www.theheartofhospice.com and check out our blog page. 

You can also find us on Facebook at facebook.com/theheartofhospice,

or on Twitter at twitter.com/thehearthospice. 

To offer your comments or questions you can also email Helen & Jerry at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you and promise to personally respond to your email. 

Holiday coping tips

It’s an overwhelming time of year. As if our normal days aren’t busy enough, our lives can become so hectic during a holiday time that we no longer enjoy it. It’s easy to find ourselves exhausted - mind, body, and spirit. 

For those who are caregivers of a hospice patient (personal or professional), there can be a unique weariness. Bodies worn down from short sleep.

Minds overwhelmed with responsibility and realities of life.

Spirits dragged down by anticipatory grief, or compassion fatigue.

So how to combat that holiday stress and fatigue? Self care!  There are so many ways to care for your “self” during the holidays, ways that will help you not only survive the season, but maybe to thrive as well. In this episode, Helen & Jerry offer some suggestions on how to provide self care when grief seeks to steal your holiday joy.  Be sure and check out our website for resources to help you survive grief at the holidays. www.theheartofhospice.com  For more self care tips be sure and follow this link to our blog, where you will find more information that can help make the holiday season easier. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. Just look up The Heart of Hospice. For comments, suggestions, or questions please email us at [email protected] Hope to hear from you soon.  

It's Black Friday! Ready or not the holiday season is here. 

The holiday season can be one of our favorite seasons, but it's also one of the most stressful times of the year. Here's our list of recommended self care tips for the holidays:

1. Give yourself permission to say no.

2. Find ways to engage all of your senses to re-energize yourself. 

3. Bake a cherished recipe and savor the memory that comes with it.

4. Remember, you're in charge of your schedule.

5. Avoid overindulgence.

6. Don't get out of your exercise routine.

7. Plan to stay organized.

If you have some of holiday self care tips that you would like to share with us, please email us at [email protected]. It would be a privilege to share them with our listeners. 

Don't forget to check out the latest blogs on our website at www.theheartofhospice.com. 

Have you ever had a bad day? Who hasn't, right? In this episode Helen & Jerry talk about how to turn a bad day into a good day with one quick and easy solution. What are we talking about? 

A gratitude list!

A daily gratitude list has a way of turning around your attitude, your mental focus, and even improve your physical well-being. To make it even better, we would like to encourage you to do a gratitude list with someone else. Ask someone else--a friend, a family member, a co-worker--to join you in creating a gratitude list. 

Listen to the episode for the details on how it's done, and hear Helen & Jerry share their gratitude lists with each other also. 

Don't forget to check out our website at www.theheartofhospice.com for more information and resources. Be sure to read the latest blog. It also has information about gratitude and gratitude lists. Click on this link to read the blog. 

Veterans Day in the United States is a day to honor the men and women who have served in our military. This group of people, from every era and every branch, have sacrificially given themselves to the call of duty and honor, to preserve our national freedoms. Today, The Heart of Hospice wishes to recognize them for their patriotism and loyalty.

Veterans on hospice has continued to increase through the years, and the NHPCO has created a program called We Honor Veterans to identify the men and women who are veterans and recognize them for their service. Hospice agencies who participate in the program will survey the patients admitted onto hospice to determine if the patient is a veteran. Veterans on hospice will then receive a certificate of appreciation and special recognition for their service to our country. 

To all the veterans and families, please accept our humble and grateful recognition of your service with a heartfelt "thank you." 

www.WeHonorVeterans.org

Hospice Month