Fall is a beautiful time of year, especially in the Southeast where Phoenix Senior Living serves seniors and their families in one of their numerous senior living communities. For many, fall is their favorite time of year because it is nature’s pause, a time where Mother Nature seems to delight in gentle breezes and vibrant colors.  We start to see a beautiful transformation with the trees changing from a vivid green to a crunchy orange, with splashes of yellow in between. The carefree pace of the summer months shifts into a comfy, snug frame of mind during the fall months. We get excited when the crisp weather and the pumpkin flavored goodies, like pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin muffins begin to appear on our menus. Starting in September, our Phoenix residents and their families can be found on any Saturday watching SEC football with a bowl of chili or a Frito pie and a glass of sweet tea not far away.

With all the physical changes like the weather, the colors and the smells that happen around us this time of year, our Phoenix teams understand that changes are happening within us as well and for our seniors those changes can be more difficult.

One of the most important things we can do for the residents at any of our Phoenix communities is help them handle change. Dealing with big changes like the loss of friends and loved ones is critical, but there are a number of other changes that, while they might be easy for us to manage, present bigger challenges for our residents. The changing of seasons represents one of those challenges and our Phoenix teams are trained to understand the impact of change and offer support that can help give our residents a better perspective to handle the transitions that happen four times every year with the changing of the seasons.

All seasonal changes can be challenging for some seniors but the transition into winter can be especially important to navigate with mindfulness and care.  As our days get shorter, nights get longer and grandchildren return to school and the football field, loved ones aren’t as available for visiting and socializing.  Although we are fortunate in the Southeast to not typically deal with winter weather issues, like other areas, it does get colder outside and residents tend to stay inside more.  And as we prepare to celebrate the holidays, for many seniors, the winter symbolizes the ending of things and can affect the state of their moods.

We know the fall seasonal change is just around the corner and our teams have already begun to prepare, while openly involving our residents in discussions and planning to celebrate fall. Talking openly about the change helps ease us all into the transition.  It also allows our residents with our associates and their family members to take a moment to reflect and recharge as we joyfully begin to prepare for the impending holidays together. We know it is going to get colder outside, but we also know the warmth of good company and something purposeful to do each day is a great reason to celebrate and Phoenix Senior Living does know how to celebrate our seniors, their families and each other!!