Homebound and Lonely on Mother’s Day: How You Can Make Her Day

What comes to mind when you think about Mother’s Day? Most of us think about flowers and gifts, family gatherings and brunches, hugs and kisses, loved ones all around… but for some moms, Mother’s Day will be spent alone behind closed doors.

Modern life doesn’t always lend itself to family togetherness, and many seniors must live alone. The elderly who have health problems, and especially those who are homebound, face a particularly lonely existence, despite having raised children and grandchildren. It is not always possible to share special holidays with them.

Mother’s Day is May 9 and there’s something you can do to make a Mom smile. It won’t take a lot of your time and it won’t cost you anything. Just sign up and a card will be sent on your behalf: Send Mother’s Day wishes to a homebound senior Mom in need.

Some of these mothers and grandmothers are not just lonely, they are also hungry. The Meals on Wheels Association of America says that today in the U.S., one in nine seniors is facing the threat of hunger — that’s more than six million people. Hunger cuts across all demographic groups. Fully 50 percent of seniors at-risk of hunger have incomes that are above the poverty line.

Family structure is also an important factor. Seniors living alone are more likely to experience hunger than their married counterparts, as are those who live with a young grandchild.

Some seniors simply lack the resources to access or prepare food due to health problems and physical limitations. For more information on how you can help seniors who are hungry, please visit the Meals on Wheels Association and while you’re thinking about Mother’s Day, check out Meals for Moms.

You can help brighten a lonely Mom’s day by sending Mother’s Day wishes. It will only take a moment of your time to make a difference, put a smile on her face, and hope in her heart.

She may not be your Mom, but she’s somebody’s Mom. If you’ve already signed the petition to send Mother’s Day wishes, thank you for helping a stranger today.

Take Action before May 9! Happy Mother’s Day!

Related Reading on Care2

Loneliness Harms Health: Why You Need Friends

Source: Meals on Wheels Association of America

Photo: Flicker via: Schristia (CC 2.0)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Ioan P.

9:10AM PDT on May 5, 2010

Thanks for posting

send a green star

Pete C.

11:09PM PDT on May 1, 2010

thanks

Janice P.

12:22PM PDT on May 1, 2010

I have signed up to be an organ donor. That was my choice - the operative word there, being my CHOICE. There can not be any kind of presumed consent. First of all, that is not true consent. Secondly, that would just lead to a lot of mischief. There are so many ethical and legal problems associated with "presumed" consent, that there is not enough space here to discuss them all.

Suffice it to say that a person must have the right to the integrity of his/her own body. That is the very least we can expect to get from society.

12:14PM PDT on May 1, 2010

(con't.) I do not understand how we have become so merciless. It is disgusting, and it will come back to you, to bite you in the backside. You, too, will be old and perhaps alone one day. This is what we have taught our children. They learn by example.

I quit working almost 13 years ago, to take care of both of my parents and their property. I am single, and I have my own house. I lived on my savings until they were al gone. I was with my parents until they took their last breath. I have been in enough rehab facilities and nursing home, to know that most of our old people are not given a damn about by their own families. It broke my heart when they weren't even visited on holidays. (I don't want to hear the excuse that the parents live in another state. Move them to your state.) Find time. Make time. You only get one set of parents. Make them your life's priority. "Modern life" did not keep me from taking care of my parents. The responsibility I had to them kept me driving a beat-up old 1987 car, and it kept me from having all the things I wanted. But, too bad. That's life. They were my parents. They were my responsibility.

Sure, it was hard. I am an only child, and I had to do it all alone. Neighbors did not even help. It has left me in as bind financially at age 63, but I knew where my place was - and it was with my parents.

Everyone reading this needs to wake up before it is too late. I do not regret one moment I gave my parents.

12:00PM PDT on May 1, 2010

The statement "Modern life does not lend itself to family togetherness, and many seniors must live alone", along with the notion that it is not always possible to share special holidays with them, just sent me through the roof!

There is nothing unique about "modern family life" that forces a person to leave his/her parent old and all alone. That is the biggest pile of cr_p I have ever heard. It's a feeble excuse for ignoring and disavowing all responsibility and caring for the very people who brought you into the world and who raised you. It is cold-hearted and cruel.

If a senior is living alone, then that person does not need round the clock care. That parent, then, should be able to live with his/her child/ren. Even some who are in nursing homes could live with their children. It would be an enriching experience for the entire family.

The "modern family life", I'm afraid, has become a euphonism for both husband and wife working, in order to maintain a lifestyle that is really beyond their means. They are often more concerned with "keeping up with the Jonses" and enjoying their petty luxuries, than they are with the welfare of their own parents. It seems to mean that grandma or grandpa would just be getting in the way, when they really want to spend most of their time and their money on themselves. Vacations, extracurricular activities of all kinds for the kids, new cars, a bigger house, parties. Old people just don't "fit in" with those kinds of plans.

johan l.

11:02AM PDT on May 1, 2010

I can assure you that my three kids and their other halves, most assuredly appreciate my wife and so do I!
I hope all mothers irrespective of where they are, have a wonderful mother's day.
And remember, it is not the present they receive but the appreciation and love that you can show them!

Mervi R.

10:15AM PDT on May 1, 2010

Great post and wonderful idea!

Ronald B.

11:49AM PDT on Apr 29, 2010

GREAT LINE and about time, Its so easy to shove the elderly into a home out of the way out of sight , I have seen things that would break your heart, It doesnt take much to touch a life, TIME is the cost

Nadia G.

7:25AM PDT on Apr 29, 2010

Unfortunately I live far away from my own Mom and I can only imagine how she feels about not beeing able to see me often. It is amazing how much attention we give to babies and young children, while we overlook those who gave us life an made us who we are... Life is a circle. We should remember this. So, bouquet sent. I thought this is a great association that needs to get more attention from the media. Thanks for posting :)

Magdalena M.

7:20PM PDT on Apr 28, 2010

This is sad. My daughter worked as a volunteer with elders and sick people and one woman told her that she is so tired of this life that she wants to end it. My daughter called 911 after she left her alone... These people worked all their lives and they cannot anymore, they forgotten, nobody cares anymore. This woman didn't hurt herself, she was happy that my daughter cared.