The school vacation in February for our family has been a time to spend the week together, sometimes staying home and taking day trips, sometimes going away to ski. It has been important to me that we spend some time doing something special. The years go fast and our home has shrunk over the past nine years from eight to three as five out of six children have graduated high school and moved away.

This school break for my youngest son was a little different. He is saving for college which he plans to attend next year. His plans will take him to San Diego to be close to his brother, sister-in-law, sister, and step-sister. I am a little envious of the freedom of being 18 and was even more so when we found that my son and his wife are having a baby. So Mitchell will also be moving close to his niece or nephew.

Given the need to save money he opted to get as much work scheduled as possible. Delivering pizza for a local pizza/sandwich shop is fairly fruitful and he is doing a good job saving. His first job was waiting on tables in the assisted living facility where my parents live. This was a character building job. He saw a lot of his grandparents, he was loved by many folks-all over eighty, and he was able to learn about serving the elderly. He left only so that he could save more through the tips that he collects on his deliveries.

Seniors Helping Seniors of Southern NH and ME is also busy and our February vacation plans were limited to an afternoon of cross country skiing. Our plan was to take Thursday afternoon to go out to some groomed trails, get some exercise and have some fun. That was the plan.

On Wednesday I had my Caring for Seniors segment on the Girard at Large radio program. This is 15 minutes of sharing ideas on how to care for the elderly and to care for ourselves as we provide that care. Topics are varied and sometimes relevant to the season, sometimes related to dementia or another challenge facing those growing old.

This week I chose to discuss tips on caring for the elderly in the winter. We have all struggled a little with the endless snow and cold this winter but the elderly are particularly at increased risk of falls, dehydration, illness and loneliness in this weather. I asked my listeners to check on elderly family members and neighbors and do something good for them. This could be shoveling or clearing a walk, making certain the house thermostat is set high enough and the flashlights have batteries that work in preparation for power outages.

I drove away happy with the segment. Rich Girard always has me feeling relaxed and he has a fondness for the elderly so he likes my segment.

A short while later I was sitting in the home of a gentleman who needs the assistance of Seniors Helping Seniors. I was contacted by two family members who were worried about him. A recent health decline and the snow and cold were complicating things for their uncle and it was more than they could handle. Jobs, family and the demands of their own home meant visits are possible only once a month.

This visit they were dismayed. He had become home bound and less mobile. Worse still, he had been plowed into his home and had no easy access in or out for caregivers. I was also worried about him. It was evident that he is not eating well and needed someone to help with his home. He is a 20 year veteran of the Air Force, serving in Korea and into Vietnam and now he is struggling with basic needs.

The moments after the meeting, as I drove away from this home, I am sure that God was speaking to me. I could hear Him saying “Judy, put your money where your mouth is. Don’t just talk the talk.” I just could not see leaving piles of snow outside and this man stuck inside. I wanted to do something and I knew what it was.

My husband and son were not shocked when I proposed giving up our afternoon of skiing to shovel. They heard the story of this elderly veteran and I think they knew there was only one good answer.

It was a really nice afternoon on a sunny, cold winter vacation. We worked together at something really worthwhile. They met a veteran and a good, kind man who needed some help. We talked, we laughed and we shoveled. We shoveled a lot of snow.

There is a comic going around Facebook right now with the request for someone to please stop shaking the snow globe in which all of New England seems to be living. This is a reasonable and humorous thought. Here in New England we have broken multiple records this winter.

In Boston the snow total for the month of February has beat the record by 15 inches as noted in this table from the weather Channel.

February 2015: 58.5 inches as of 1 p.m. Feb. 15
January 2005: 43.3 inches
January 1945: 42.3 inches

Winter storms became important enough to be named in the 2012-2013 season and Juno and Marcus this year alone have combined to top winter snow totals. Jan. 26-28, 2015 (Juno): 24.6 inches
Feb. 7-10, 2015 (Marcus): 23.8 inches. This weekend we have survived Neptune and we are looking at Octavio coming up the eastern seaboard this week. It certainly makes us hope we don’t reach Zelus, the name set aside for the 26^th winter storm of the 2014-2015 season. And it almost erases the memories of the Thanksgiving storm that had many of us trying to figure out how to cook a turkey without power.

In our mid-fifties it is draining to be outside shoveling and snow blowing every 3^rd day. My husband Randy has been up on a 20 foot ladder numerous times clearing ice dams that have caused leaks. A wonderful neighbor tipped him off to ice melt in panty hose so we now have ladies stockings adorning the tops of our windows. Anything that works.

But as exhausted as we may be from the activity of the winter storms, the elderly are at risk this time of year and need more frequent visits if living at home. The seniors living in New England are more likely to cancel doctor visits during the frigid temperatures and snow storms that we are experiencing. Without the encouragement and support of a caregiver an early infection could be left un-noticed until pneumonia sets in.

Errands seem daunting when you can’t seem to get warm in your own home and so food in the pantry may begin to dwindle. Hydration and nutrition suffer.

As family hunker down and try to manage their own home, the elderly can be left with fewer visits and less monitoring. Social isolation grows and minds can become idle.

If you know of a senior in your neighborhood who may need someone to check in on them, take a few minutes to call or knock on the door. Bring over a meal and ask them if you can pick anything up while you attend to your own groceries. And if the door is opened, enter your elderly neighbor’s with a watchful eye and a listening ear. Are they more tired than usual, do things look as if they are in disarray? These could be signs that a regular visit is in order.

In times of record breaking weather the elderly need more attention and this is a wonderful opportunity to take a break from shoveling the roof and to spend time being a great neighbor. Of course it goes without saying that their roof may need some shoveling as well!