I learned a new word recently and I would like to share it with you because I think it will help you. The word is ‘hygge’, a Danish word that has no equivalent in our English vocabulary but can be described as a feeling of privacy, security, coziness, graciousness, warmth, simple pleasures, delighting in the company of intimate friends and family, etc. http://www.skagen.com/gb/en/journal/danish-happiness-hygge/how-denmark-inspires/hygge-word-meaning.html Hygge is important for our health, I believe, and is becoming more and more of a rarity for some of us, especially as we get older, but need not be so.

Let me give you an example. I have been helping one of our members at his home this weekend. On each visit I made to his home, he wanted to show me his paintings, sculptures, and momentos. At the clubhouse I have seen that he is very aware of how something feels, the texture and quality of fabrics and paper, during activities that we have done there. His home was filled with many beautiful colors and textures. These are his ‘hygge’. Hygge grounds us and gives us comfort and stress relief.

If the member I was helping at home went into a nursing home, his hygge would come to an end. His health would deteriorate as would his mood and spirit. With the help of his family and Aging With Grace–The Health Club for Seniors, he can stay in his home until he passes. To care for him solely at home would be too taxing on his family, depriving them of their hygge and endangering their health. To pay for too much help at home is expensive and comes with a loss of hygge too (loss of privacy) for him and his family. That is where the clubhouse can help. To attend the clubhouse costs much less than home care, and has the added benefits of social, mental, and physical stimulation, good nutrition and nursing services.  A combination of the two, 1. hygge and minimal help at home, and 2. attendance at the clubhouse, are the perfect combination for the best quality of life.