‘Tis the season for those who love fruitcakes (and you know who you are), gifts (and who doesn’t?), Christmas trees, chocolate coins and eggnog.

Yet, for me, ‘tis the season for us to hold the all-important Board of Directors’ meetings.  And by that, I mean having a meaningful meeting with the adult members of your families who will be sharing holiday tables with you in these coming weeks.  It only makes sense, if you are the CEO of Caring for My Loved One, Inc., that your family members who are not involved with the day-to-day details of caring for your shared loved one are, in effect, your Board of Directors (for better or for worse).

I know that sometimes it seems that the only time you hear from your sister-in-law Sue or your brother Bill is when they decide to swoop in and offer their two cents of advice on caregiving issues for which they have no understanding or knowledge. Rather than fuming, fretting and fighting, the holidays offer you the best opportunity to hold informational Board meetings where you can update them on the details of your loved one’s care and maybe even make their involvement in such care in the coming year more valuable.

So, what we will be doing in these Fearless Caregiver Communiques during the coming weeks before the holidays  is offering you topic specific agendas for meetings which can be held over after-dinner coffee or even over drinks on the back porch after the kids go to bed.

The topic for the first meeting needs to be something on which you can all agree.  You may be the only one who knows that Mom should stop driving or Dad’s wandering is getting out of hand, but I guarantee you that your family members who have been attempting to have meaningful telephone conversations with a loved one who will not admit to hearing loss will readily concede that something is amiss.  Although your loved one may not want to admit their hearing loss and take the steps necessary to be fitted with appropriate hearing devices, there may be some easier steps to take to “get them on board” once you are able to get your Board on board.

Board of Directors Meeting Agenda Questions:

Have any of you had problems being understood by our loved one on the phone?

Are they constantly telling you that you mumble over the phone?

Can anyone recall other family members who have had a history of hearing loss as they aged?

Some Action Steps:

If your loved one is hesitant about going to a doctor about their hearing loss, maybe a family member who has recently been to an audiologist can talk about how much it helped them communicate.

For seniors, talk with them about how frustrating it has been for the grandchildren to have conversations with their loved one on the phone.

Thankfully, there is now equipment that can make telephone conversations more pleasant for both sides of the phone call, and may be an easy first step to getting your loved one to take action about their hearing loss.

With a well led Board of Directors’ meeting, hopefully you will be able to turn Ho-Ho-Ho into Hear-Hear- Hear.