Lifestyle

The prospect of raising grandchildren is bound to trigger a range of emotions. Positive emotions, like the love you feel for your grandchildren, the joy in seeing them learn and grow, and relief at giving them a stable environment, are easy to acknowledge. It’s more difficult to admit to feelings such as resentment, guilt, or fear.

Divorced Man’s Guide to Social Security Over the 27 years I’ve been writing this column, I have probably written a hundred columns directed at divorced women. But after answering emails from men who had questions about benefits for divorcees, it dawned on me that I’ve never written a column for divorced men.

What an exciting Easter Sunday we experienced. Our sunrise service was attended by 26. We were visited by some friends from north of Pawhuska, Inola, and Ponca City. The morning worship service had a great attendance also. There were 59 in attendance. Most couldn’t come to the sunrise service but were able to make it to the worship service. It was a time of great worship and fellowship. We also had an Easter egg hunt following the worship service for the children. It didn’t take them long to find all the hidden plastic eggs with surprises in them. I would sum it up by saying we had a wonderful gathering for the Burbank community. Our church family recently decided to help some families in the Western Oklahoma area that were affected by the wildfires. I was able to contact Gage First Baptist church pastor who shared that 6 homes were destroyed along with several cattle by ranchers in that area. He said that the church would be more than happy to assist families in need. The Lord has blessed Burbank First Baptist with people who send their tithes and offerings for the church to use in sharing God’s love with. We have many former church members who sent their support because they loved seeing the Lord’s work done in areas they could never visit. We are thankful that God continues to bless the membership with people who love the Lord and desire to support our missionary endeavors of financial support to others in need. This weekend the Burbank School Alumni are hosting a community gathering with music by a band for the area. There is still life in Burbank and the church family are so glad that they can continue to be a part of community involvement. I believe that some of the young women in the fellowship desire to start a women’s Bible study. It is in the developmental stage.

There’s new research suggesting early introduction of common allergy foods to babies around 6 months of age can reduce the risk of developing food allergies. That advice is now part of the recently released 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It’s especially important with peanuts and eggs.

I have heard it said that more family caregivers die before the person they care for than the other way around. I personally know two caregivers who have died in the last year, before the person they were caring for. Is it just because they are caregivers? I say no. It’s not being a caregiver that causes the problems, it is how you deal with stress and the changes that being a caregiver brings to your life. Some caregivers still try to work while they care for their loved one. Some caregivers have to quit their job in order to care for their loved one. Becoming a caregiver changes your life as you knew it before. Caregivers are usually so immersed in their role that they neglect their own care. The stress is not only related to the daunting work of caregiving, but also the grief associated with the decline in the health of their loved one. The majority of caregivers go through a period of shock followed by major adjustments in their roles.