Mother’s Day was this past Sunday – although The Saybrook at Haddam will be celebrating next week, on Monday, May 21. We decided to host our special gathering at this later date so we did not interfere with other Mother’s Day events families planned for the moms, grandmothers and great-grandmothers at our community. Plus, no one seems to mind extending this holiday a little longer! We were looking over some articles on “great Mother’s Day gifts,” and it struck us that many of the suggested gifts are part of our daily life here at The Saybrook at Haddam.
For instance, caring.com suggested brain teasers as great gifts for grandmothers – and each day, we offer group activities including word and number puzzles designed to “exercise our brains.” They also suggested taking grandmother to have her hair and nails done at a salon – which is something residents can conveniently do here at our in-house beauty salon. And, they thought sending a healthy meal through a mail-order company was great – and we serve healthy meals here three times a day every day of the week.
For the grandmother who continues to enjoy cooking and baking, Good Housekeeping thought gifts such as measuring spoons or cookware were the way to go this year. The moms and grandmothers at The Saybrook at Haddam know our Country Kitchen is fully stocked and ready for them to use when the mood strikes. So instead, we suggest the best kitchen-themed gift is time shared mixing and baking together with family or friends (something we do quite often here).
Flowers are always a popular gift and we know residents loved receiving some this past Mother’s Day (and many shared them with the rest of the community). We regularly decorate our dining room and gathering spaces with flowers to bring cheer and brighten our days. Now that the weather is warming, our many gardens are starting to bud and sprout (one of the greatest gifts from nature) – which we enjoy inside and out. Additionally, we offer a year-round program called “People-Plant Connection” that helps residents best maintain their own houseplants or container gardens.
We are an inquisitive group at The Saybrook at Haddam and many residents love receiving books or audio books as gifts. Residents like to pass these along so others in the community can borrow and enjoy them. We keep several well-stocked sharing libraries for residents to discover new books to read in their private apartments or in one of our many “reading nooks.” We also host author readings, book discussions, and educational outings to really encourage the life-long learning spirit.
Recently in the Baltimore Sun, writer Peggy Rowe lamented that the most popular Mother’s Day gifts were flowers, apparel and gift cards. “How could we get it so wrong?” she asks in her humorous article about giving the greatest of all Mother’s Day gifts: time and patience. We couldn’t agree more!
Additionally, we find it inspiring that Mother’s Day began as far back as the 1850s and, early on, included “Friendship Day” picnics to help reunite Union and Confederate loyalists after the end of the Civil War. The whole “holiday” was meant to bring people together, strengthen American families, and improve conditions for children and families – which really are the most important gifts of all.
For a private tour of The Saybrook at Haddam or its Safe Harbor memory care neighborhood, please fill out the form below or contact David Downey at 860-345-3779.
