Past Prescriptions:

December 2007: Family

January 2008: Space Organization

February 2008: Office Organization

March 2008: Summer/Trip Prep

April 2008: Prescription for Home Care  

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Contents for May 2008

 

 

Peace of Mind May
Newsletter:
Bereavement Preparedness - Life Transitions

P - Plan! The 5 W's
E - Educate Yourself
A - Action - Do it with the support you need
C - Care and Love - yourself and others during the process. It can be stressful
E - Establish a maintenance program where you revisit the plan and make additions, deletions and changes as necessary

P - P- Plan! Ask yourself the 5 w's. Who is involved? What are we doing? Where is it taking place? When? - Create a timeline. Why? State the purpose

  • Who is involved? Everyone needs to prepare for the inevitable. We will all die one day and it is better to be prepared for your death so that you can leave your loved ones with Peace of Mind, knowing your final wishes.

  • What are we doing? Get your affairs in order by keeping your Home Reference Guide and Estate Planning Guide up to date. Call Peace of Mind to get started today. 541 390-9873. Meet with a lawyer to draft a will. Start eliminating clutter so that you can live your life to the fullest.

  • Where is it taking place? Decide when it is time to downsize, have open discussions with family regarding the appropriate time to look for assisted living, what type of facility, will they live with family, etc.

  • When? - Create a timeline. When is a good time to start having these discussions? A new addition to the family is a great time because wills need to be changed. Have the discussions with your parents while they are still young and clear. When you wait, it only adds fear and confusion to an already scary time of life. Schedule time with your family, extended family and friends that might be involved on a yearly basis to discuss these tough issues.

  • Why? - State the purpose. Why is it important? I have too many clients that are grieving after the death of a loved one and they have the added burden of trying to put together a puzzle of paperwork, determine what stuff was important, valuable, or memorable. Tell the "stories of the stuff" now so that you don't add the stress to your friends and family. Leave them with the happy memories of you and your time together; give them the gift of Peace of Mind.

E - Educate Yourself - It is very important to know all of the options available to you and your family when dealing with a death or aging parents. Some excellent resources are listed below.

  • The Cancer Patient's Workbook - Everything you need to know to stay organized and informed, by Joanie Willis

  • Go to your personal banker and ask them about co-owners, beneficiaries, or joint accounts.

  • Talk to your loved ones about where they currently bank, safe deposit boxes, insurance information.

  • Make arrangements to talk to the accountant.

  • Explore funeral home options and arrangements (death certificate, DMV, IRS, Stocks and bonds, Social Security, Bank, Union, Rail road retirement, Veterans, PERS)

A - A - Action - Do it with the support you need. Peace of Mind can assist you in a proactive approach by:

  • Organizing the paperwork

  • Organize the home

  • Organizing the Estate

  • Organizing your memorial service in advance

    • Music, notes to loved ones, stories behind the stuff

We are also there to support you after the death has occurred by:

  • Going through your loved ones items and determine weather to donate, sell, keep, toss

  • Moving to another location, packing and unpacking

  • Planning a celebration of life event

C - Care and Love - yourself and others during the process. It can be stressful

  • Any life transition, even the exciting ones are stressful. The more you can do in advance to be organized, the less stressful the situation will be. Years ago, I worked at a High School where we lost some children in a plane crash. A dear friend of one of the girls who lost her life was the "go to" person for all of the questions, hugs, and strength. She needed time to grieve as well and wasn't able to care for her own needs at that time. This affected her greatly months down the road. We need to make sure to take the time for ourselves that we need to grieve, to feel the loss, express our pain and be able to start the healing process. Families need to join together in love during this difficult time, not in war over the inheritance. Have it all organized ahead of time to reduce the amount of conflict, stress and increase the time for celebration of life and moving forward from here.

E - Establish a maintenance program where you revisit the plan and make additions, deletions and changes as necessary.

  • Update your Home Reference Guide every month

  • Update your will

  • Schedule time to discuss the tough questions around death and dying with your family and necessary friends

    Live, Love, Laugh, Lift Others-
     

     

    Calendar for May Peace of Mind Events:
    May 2008

    May 2-4 HOME SHOW - Featuring the Closet Factory

    May 8 - Prineville MOPS Presentation

    May 11 - Mother's Day

    May 11-12 Peace of Mind in Portland to work with clients

    May 14 - COBG Meeting ACB Fireside Room

    May 15 - Board of Directors Meeting

    May 17 - Armed Forces Day - hug a soldier

    May 21 - NEW Meeting St. Charles 5-8pm

    May 25 - Saturday Market Opens Downtown Bend

    May 26 - Memorial Day

    May 30-31 - Festival of the Ten Minute Play focusing on Families Tower Theatre

    June 3 - Life Design Team Meeting 2-4pm

    June 7 - Festival in the Park at the Senior Center

    June 11 - COBG Meeting ACB Fireside Room

     

     

    Useful Links and Peace of Mind Partners

    May Featured Local Business
    Quadrant Systems

    TJ Muller
    Systems Designer
    62999 Layton Ave
    Bend Oregon 97701
    Phone 541.322.0555
    Fax 541.322.0114
    Cell 541.350.6310
    TJ Muller email


    HOME THEATER - AUDIO/VIDEO DISTRIBUTION - HOME AUTOMATION
    LIGHTING CONTROL - TOUCH PANEL INTEGRATION - SECURITY/SAFETY SYSTEMS

    For more than 20 years Quadrant Systems has kept Northwest families, builders and businesses on the cutting edge of systems and technologies.

    Longevity is important where your job is concerned. We stress quality and reliability, back up our work and document every job for future reference. Ten years from now, there will be no guessing about your wiring plan.
    Our goal is to earn trust and referrals through excellent service.
    Your needs: Our solutions. (All from just one source.)
    Work with experts in all facets of home technologies. One representative, one company, one quality guarantee. Integration does make a difference.
    Our more than 30 staff and technicians take pride in their work. Our technicians are employees not subcontractors, so you can trust them in your home. Our company is licensed and bonded, and insured to an exceptional $2 million, including for errors and omissions. From whole house to a single room. Whether you are building, remodeling or creating the home entertainment center of your dreams, talk to us. We will work directly with you or as a member of your construction team of builders, designers, architects, electricians and cabinet makers.
    At Quadrant our passion is enhancing your lifestyle through the technologies we offer. We offer top products in every price range. Unlike most technology companies, we stock most products in our warehouse to avoid delays and keep your job on schedule. We also stand behind our work, with a minimum one-year warranty on materials and workmanship.

    Peace of Mind recommends the following businesses to help you with other needs that we cannot meet and to show our support for our local partnerships:

    Thad Higgins – John L Scott – Realtor
    Shannon Bassett – Home Fridays
    SMEAD office products
    Debra Simpkins – Bend Skin Company
    Kirsti Wolfe Designs
    Satterlee Jewelers
    Erich Hohengarten - Derink Construction
    Closet Factory
    POSH – Posh Event Planner
    Robert Berman - Cascade Concrete Solutions

    Kelly and Aileen Walker –
    Sublime Design Group
    Diane Hammond, Website designer - Web-Wrights

    The Wine Shop at Home

    The Life Center – Ramy Louis- www.LIFEA-Z.org
    Wallbeds of Oregon – Dan Grandon – www.wallbedsoforegon.com
    Stone Soup – Chrissy Christoferson – www.stonesoupkids.com
    Jad Benefit Solutions – Galen Blyth – www.jad-solutions.com
    MetLife – Barbara Seaman and Lorri Craig – 541 388-1708
    Terri Shephard CorporateRecruitingSolutions@bendbroadband.com

    WHAT’S NEW AT PEACE OF MIND, INC?

    Peace of Mind has joined dynamics, www.danamics.net a business management organization, as a strategic partner. We are now able to offer programs that cover the four ingredients needed for unlimited success at business and at home: attitude development, human relations, skill development, and goal setting. The key word is "development."
    Developing professionals for success in today's world requires access to cutting edge technology and programs in evolving areas. Business today is more fast-paced and complex than ever before. Enhancements in technology, changes in organizational structures and ever-increasing consumer demands for newer, better, faster and cheaper goods and services present challenges to every organization.
    We present a new, pragmatic approach to developing individuals and organizations that can face those challenges and succeed. Our development programs encompass:

    As you review our program descriptions, bear in mind that all programs are customized to your organization's unique needs and goals. We can combine elements of one program in combination with one or more other programs and/or add additional components.

     

     

    Live, Love, Laugh, Lift Others-
     

    Contact Peace of Mind
    Go to Peace of Mind's Website

     

 


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