Wish list for long term care

As we age, we keep a kind of grim watch on ourselves for signs of decrepitude. Why did I forget where I put the keys? How could I have tripped on the sidewalk? How come I'm taking afternoon naps? On the one hand, we want to stay independent as long as possible. But on the other hand, if we need a care facility, it's better to get ourselves into one while we can still arrange it ourselves. If only long-term care didn't seem like such a nightmare, a life fraught with loneliness, boredom, and helplessness.

In many nursing homes, you're treated essentially as a houseplant: you get fed and watered, and maybe serenaded from time to time. What would it take to feel that we're still alive, that our lives have meaning and purpose? What if we had opportunities to make choices, take responsibility, make a contribution, even in a small way? Once you start to think about how this could be done, you can come up with lots of ideas that would be easy and inexpensive to carry out. Here are a few; can you think of more?

• Adult story time: residents choose favourite books, and read aloud to one another.
• Computers: have some public-access computers available to the residents. Find volunteers to teach them some basics if needed. Encourage residents to use them to keep up with family members, news, sports, games.
• Have residents maintain a community flower or vegetable garden, even just an indoor one with grow lights.
• Invite kids from a local school to come over and entertain at the nursing home; then have residents reciprocate by reading them stories.
• Jewellery-making (and wearing!).
• Jigsaw puzzles, Lego, board games.
• Let residents choose their own houseplant, and let them know they're responsible for looking after it.
• Pets for residents who want them. Residents have to take responsibility for them. But make sure to keep them away from residents who don't want animals underfoot.
• Singalongs: pass out a list of song titles, and let residents choose which ones to sing.
• Teach residents to use Skype, then set up arrangements for residents to be Skype-based pen-pals with residents of other nursing homes.