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December 17, 2025 16 mins

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We pull holiday questions from a bowl to reflect on care, family rituals, and what truly matters at the end of a long year. From a Grinch suit to a weekly visit that may have saved a life, we land on one simple ask for Christmas morning.

• playful traditions that spark connection  
• why small, steady acts keep seniors thriving  
• the ache for family togetherness and how to bridge it  
• foods that carry comfort and memory  
• a year summed up as learning in service  
• gratitude for teams who carry the mission  
• lessons from older adults on what lasts  
• a simple ritual to include elders in the magic

FaceTime an elderly loved one of yours on Christmas morning and just let them be a part of it

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Episode Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 (00:08):
Welcome back to Senior Care Academy.
Today we're going to do anepisode special for Christmas,
and the podcast manager decidedthat what we should do is fill a
bowl with a bunch of questions,and I will pick a few out
randomly and answer them on areflection for this year.
Some of the questions are aboutChristmas, some of the questions
are about seniors, some areabout helperly.

(00:28):
So here we go.

The first question (00:30):
if you could dress up as any Christmas
character for a day at work, whowould it be?
That one's pretty easy.
I think it'd be the Grinch.
Um, the Jim Carrey Grinch.
It's just so fun.
So many different mannerisms andlike funny things that you could
do.
And the Grinch is my wife'sfavorite, one of my wife's

(00:50):
favorite Christmas movies.
So she would enjoy if I dressedup, I'm sure.
Next, what's a funny orunexpected holiday tradition in
your family?
Funny or unexpected?
Um holiday, I'll loop inThanksgiving.
An unexpected holiday traditionfor Thanksgiving is my mom makes

(01:12):
a ridiculous amount of pies.
Um anywhere from 30 pies to like110 pies.
And so we usually have more piesthan we have people, or about
the same number of pies as wehave people at Thanksgiving
dinner.
So that's always gets a goodlittle reaction out of people,
and I think that's why my momdoes it, because nobody's asking

(01:34):
for it.
She just keeps making this manypies, and we love it.
I've got pies for weeks afterThanksgiving, um, but it's a lot
of fun, and it's very unexpectedwhen I say, Yeah, I'll bring
some pies, and they'redelicious.
She's a very good baker, all thethings.
It's just a ton, ton of pies.
Um next, name a small act ofcare that made a big difference

(01:57):
this year.
Um, there's one client that wehave, he's been around for a
handful of years now.
Um, and somebody on the helprelease staff visits him once a
week, and he kind of he hashimself and then he has a little
puppy named Brindley, and Ithink it's a lot of small acts

(02:22):
of kindness.
He really doesn't have any othersupport systems.
He's been um in and out ofskilled nursing all year long.
He's probably been in at leastthree or four different times to
a uh skilled nursing facility,and I think that the like him
and his caregiver have becomereally good friends, almost like
a uh father-son or father orgrandfather-grandson dynamic.

(02:45):
And I personally believe, justlike with statistics and all the
things, that it's like the onlyreason that he's still around
and surviving.
Like most of the time, going toa sniff once sets you up for
like a really quickdeterioration.
But he's been there multipletimes and he's still kicking and
he's still um there every singleTuesday.
So I think that small acts ofcare can make a big difference

(03:09):
um for anyone as long as they'restacked on top of each other.
So there's that one.
Um, the next is if you couldmagically grant a holiday wish
for any senior or caregiver,what would it be?
A holiday wish, one that I heara lot that's actually really
sad, and I'm thinking about thatsame guy, would be getting all

(03:32):
their family in one place forChristmas, whether it's like a
dinner or gift exchange orsomething.
I think it's the bigger andbigger as years go on, people
keep having kids and the familykeeps growing and it gets more
complex with schedules.
And like, for example, my mygrandma and grandpa, I've got
like 70 plus cousins, and a lotof us are married with kids of

(03:56):
our own, so we have in-laws ofour own.
Um, and it's just really, reallytough to get everybody in one
place.
So if I could just magicallywave a wand and make a wish
happen, it would be to get allof their posterity in one place.
Next one.
What is your favorite holidayfood or drink to enjoy while

(04:16):
working?
Celsius.
Just kidding.
Um, I have a caffeine problem.
Um holiday food or drink that Ienjoy while working.
I'm not a big drink guy, but aholiday food that I really
enjoy.

(04:38):
My wife makes really goodcranberry salad or whatever, and
so that's fun.
I actually didn't likecranberries before she made
hers, so I do enjoy that a lot.
Um biscuits and gravy aresomething that we have each
Christmas, so that's kind ofassociated with holidays at this
point.

(04:58):
And then um, I do dabble in alittle bit of eggnog this time
of year, but I'm not huge, soCelsius is my answer.
Just kidding.
If you could wrap up your yearat Helperly in one word, what
would it be?
I would say learning.

(05:20):
2025 has been full of a lot ofdifferent lessons and um easy,
some hard, some welcome, somenot, at Helperly, as we've
continued to learn and grow andum develop to try to help more
seniors.
I've had a lot of lessons thisyear, so 2025 was a year of

(05:42):
learning.

Next question (05:44):
What's your favorite holiday memory with
someone you care for?
Um, not sure if this questionmeans like currently care for or
just like somebody that I careabout.
But um, there's a really goodholiday memory.
I would have been 11, I think.

(06:05):
It was the my older brotherserved a mission, LDS mission.
He got back from his mission.
And another tradition that wehave as a family is all 10 of
our sip, all 10 siblings uhsleep in one bedroom, and we
have like a huge slumber partythe day before or on Christmas
Eve.
Um, and then we all come out atthe same time.
And that is a very memorableone.

(06:27):
Um, it was his first one back,and then we all slept over in
it, it was like a small room.
We had basically just the floorwas mats.
Um, of course, we were up atlike three in the morning asking
for mom and dad to come get us,and then all my sisters were
like doing their hair, and thenmy brothers and I were like
rough housing.
It was a very good memory.

(06:48):
Um, I don't know why that onespecifically stands out because
we did that every year, but thatone's very strong memory.
Um, if you could create a newholiday tradition for seniors,
what would it be?
Uh new holiday traditionspecifically for seniors.
I think something along thelines that connects them to

(07:10):
their peers.
So making it some sort oftradition, whether it's old
friends or new friends, or umholo or you know, high school
friends or something, atradition where you know, after
you turn 65 or something, um,every single Christmas Eve you
get on a video call or you dosomething with people that are

(07:33):
in that same demographic.
I think that would be a superawesome holiday tradition that
can not fill the gap, but umhelp some with the fact that it
is really hard to have yourentire family over every single
Christmas.
So that would be a really cooltrend.
Not trend, tradition.
Next question is share a moment.

(07:54):
I keep on saying question.
This isn't a question, it's astatement.
Share a moment this year thatmade you feel especially
grateful.
Um I'll share one work and onefamily.
So one work moment that made mefeel especially grateful.
Um earlier this year, hired adirector of operations for the
services side of our business.
And um a few weeks ago, I wentinto his office.

(08:18):
They were having um a teammeeting, and they were just
talking about all the differentlike things that they had done
and systems that they had setup.
And it was a really coolexperience for me to walk in and
see people care so much about uhthe demographic that we serve,
this business that we've built,um, and things moving forward
without me being needing to beinvolved was super cool.

(08:40):
So that's a professional one.
Um, a moment this year that mademe feel especially grateful.
It's more of a recurring moment.
Uh, I've got two little boys,um, and even like yesterday,
driving them to the babysitter.
Um, just they're getting to theage where they can play more and
more.
And so watching them like laughwith each other, or the big

(09:02):
brother um doing something sillythat makes our his baby brother
laugh.
It's just been a recurring, verygrateful for my life moment.
Um that happens often.
So this one's actually aquestion.
What's one lesson this year thatseniors have taught you?
Um I think a lesson that I'velearned this year from older

(09:27):
adults is just in general, notone senior in specific, but in
general, that as you get older,um the things that matter at
like the things that seem reallyimportant continue to fade into
the distance.
Um, the accolades or the thewealth or the the different

(09:51):
things, and what matters in theend are two things how you feel
um alone by yourself in a room,like how you feel internally,
and then the the close personalrelationship.
So your family and your friends,and how you treat them, they
treat you, and um you know, atthe end of the day, when you're

(10:12):
70, 80, 90, 100, that's thoseare the two things that matter.
So just a good recurring messagefrom the older adults that I
keep on relearning.
What is one thing you wantfamilies of seniors to remember
this Christmas?
I think remember, especiallyfamilies that now have kids of

(10:34):
their own.
I think remember that 20, 30, 40years ago, your elderly loved
ones were doing the thing thatyou're doing now.
And think about how much you'llprobably miss it in 20, 30, 40
years from now when you don'thave little ones or the family's
grown so big that you don't thelike magic of Christmas with the

(10:55):
gifts and all the littletraditions and all of that
eventually um it morphs, but alot of it ends up going away.
And so realizing that they usedto have these special moments,
they don't really have thatopportunity anymore.
And so if you were to swapplaces with them, um, or even

(11:19):
think swap placing, swap placeswith yourself, your future self
40 years from now, and you hadthe opportunity to come back, um
how would you um involve themdifferently to knowing that they
want more than anything to be inyour position making magic

(11:40):
happen for their kids orgrandkids or whatever?
Um, and so think of that andthen say, How can I help make
that happen?
Even if it's like a FaceTimecall to grandma on Christmas
morning, just saying, Hey, look,this is Wesley's favorite gift
or whatever.
What's your go-to comfort foodduring the holidays, and would
you share it with the senior?

(12:00):
Um, go to comfort foods,biscuits and gravy.
I I'd kill for some biscuits andgravy.
Um and like pumpkin pie.
And would I share it with thesenior as long as they don't
have a lactose allergy ordiabetes?

(12:22):
Because then I can share it withthem.
I would share anything withanyone.
Um, but yeah, so biscuits andgravy um and and pumpkin pie.
And if they asked, I'd share.
I'd make them actually.
I make some pretty killerhomemade biscuits and homemade
gravy.
So second to last, what is yourChristmas prayer or wish for the

(12:47):
seniors and families that weserve specifically?
Um I think my wish would just tobe that they can reflect on 2025
and their life and realize howmuch of an impact that they've
had, um, and show themselvessome some gratitude, look

(13:09):
internally and be like, Man,thank you for getting me to this
point in my life.
Um, that's what my wish wouldbe, that they can realize the
impact that they've had.
Last question, let's make it agood one.
What's the most hilarious thinga senior or caregiver said to
you this year?
Um this isn't a client of oursor anything, but I was talking

(13:32):
to an older gentleman about mywife's dog.
Um it's a Shitsu Yorky mix, andso the the people call it a
shorty, and I was talking to himabout it because we have a
different dog.
I love Teddy, that's her dog'sname.
Um, less uh, I mean, I love himless than our other dog.

(13:56):
I love Elle, she's been in ourlife for like five years,
anyways.
So I told him that it's a shihtzuyorky or a shorty, and he
said, Oh, you mean it's yourshit?
And I thought that was thefunniest thing, just so random
and out of pocket, and I thoughtit was hilarious.
And so I usually with my wife,she was less than enthused that
I said, go get your shiz.

(14:16):
Um, anyways, so I thought thatwas hilarious, um, and how
quickly he was able to move itup.
And then something that washilarious that my grandpa said
to me, not this year, um, butwhen I was in high school, he
came to one of my high school,he was out of state, so he had a
really hard time coming tosupport like all the

(14:37):
extracurriculars.
But I played football in highschool, I was a receiver, and he
came to one game ever.
Um, I loved it that he wasthere, it meant it meant the
world.
And then after the game, andmind you, my grandpa doesn't
talk a lot, he's just a verylike old cowboy.
And uh he said one thing aboutthe game, or he said, like, good

(14:58):
game, but they need to strap arocket to your back.
And so just it's such a funnyway of telling me that I was
slow as molasses.
Um I thought that was hilarious,and it still is like one of my
favorite stories is that mygrandpa told me I need to strap
a rocket onto my back to be ableto actually score touchdowns.
So, anyways, 2025 has been agood year.

(15:19):
I'm excited for this Christmasseason.
Um, if I had to leave any advicefor you or one action item,
FaceTime an elderly loved one ofyours on Christmas morning and
just let them be a part of it.
I know that it's really hard toget to their house a lot of
times or to try to gather in asmall group.
So just FaceTime them and letthem be a part of the magic, the
magic that you're making foryour kids who are their

(15:40):
grandkids, um, or even the magicyourself, as you like think
about how you're probably stilltheir little baby in their eyes.
And so if you want to uh youknow, FaceTime them and show
them your favorite gift, it'sjust as awesome and magical for
them, probably as it was whenyou were a little kid.
So involve them and make it sothat way this holiday season is

(16:03):
something that they're excitedabout and that they can treasure
as well.
And that is our Christmasedition of Senior Care Academy.
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