one day last month (Mar 2026), my sweet Mom put a new flag on her mailbox while I guided her with instructions and support.
Many of us who are care partners of aging parents think about the big things – cleaning the house, yard work, the furnace, and car maintenance.
Who expects a text that the flag fell off the mailbox and she has to drive to the post office to drop off the mail? Mom lives in an area where you put up the flag and the mailman knows to pick up your mail. (I do not have this lovely service where I live.) Mom mails a lot more things than I realized. So this broken flag was an issue. Yes, she is still driving quite well, but she enjoys her ritual with the mailman.
I was at Mom’s house the next week for my monthly visit. I looked into flags, ordered one, and selected the delivery date so I could install it. As things go, it did not arrive in time.
Mom decided she could take on this task. I had read the instructions so I guided her remotely. Who knew a mailbox has two holes and you feed the enclosed parts through these to install with no tools required? Now I do…and so do you.
Mom was excited. She sent a photo to the whole family group and everyone responded with accolades. I didn’t expect this would be an event in our life in 2026.
But here we are.
One moment at a time.
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