Tag: Family

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Cousins Staying Connected

My cousin, a smart and savvy 28 year old, and me, at 56 years old, have really connected since hanging by Lake Wawasee for my 50th birthday (in August 2014). She came to the lake again the following couple years.  And then, we connected up again during COVID, in January 2021, at our home in Lake Worth Beach, FL. 

My cousin? She makes the effort.  She communicates well with adults, older adults and older cousins.  She makes trips to see us.  She takes business trips to further her career with a sports tech start-up.  She takes trips with friends to discover the world.  And, she remembers.

During a couple of our “cousin convos”, I had mentioned that I would charter a jet and bring friends to see Coldplay or KYGO if they were to ever perform at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado.  Well, sure enough.  In early June 2021, one of her work colleagues let her know that KYGO was coming to Red Rocks.  She confirmed it, and texted me immediately. She remembered our “cousin convo”.  She remembered!

We quickly bought four tickets to KYGO, on row 5, then started booking airfare.  I invited another friend, but he couldn’t make it.  Invited my niece, and she first declined, but then decided to make the trip, too. Bottom line: we had five of us, ranging in age from 28 to 76 on row 5 at the KYGO concert on June 24, 2021.  What a blast, a memory of a lifetime.  And my cousin made it happen, because she remembered our conversation about a bucket list concert.

Are you staying connected with loved ones? Are you asking unique questions? Are you listening, and remembering their answers? If YES, way to go and keep doing it.  If NO, then ask yourself, “if you aren’t staying connected, asking questions, and listening for answers, then WHEN will you do it?”

Don’t wait.  Life is short.

Jen Wilfong

6/26/2021

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My bud, the Echo Dot!

For Christmas 2017, I received the Amazon Echo Dot.  Welp, we all get busy, right? And you know, sometimes we don’t take the time to hook things/gadgets up. Finally, we took a few minutes and found it simple to get the Echo Dot working in the house yesterday.  And we love it! We played some Barry White music, we got weather updates as storms kept rolling in, we got the Wall Street Journal news update, and were told “Good night, hope you had a good day!”  And today we are further researching how we can operate our TV and music much more efficiently, while lowering our costs across our multiple homes.

After one day of exposure to the Echo Dot,  I now see why our seniors and elderly could benefit from them.  Sure, our seniors can ask questions and learn things, get weather updates quickly. But more importantly, the Echo Dot serves as a companion in the home.  And a safe companion.  It is listening for you to call it’s name all the time. It may be a simple, low cost way to reduce loneliness.  And research proves that loneliness is a deadly thing for our seniors and elderly.

As I move forward in life, I want to ensure that our seniors and elderly are able to remain connected and feel relevant.  Literally this morning, I thought about starting a business that would 1) buy, install, and sync Echo Dots for our seniors and elderly, and 2) easily educate them on “how to use the Echo Dot” in their homes. Many of our seniors and elderly are on fixed incomes, but they also enjoy listening to music, reading, watching movies, catching up on the news, etc. Why not make it REALLY easy for them, leveraging this new technology, all while potentially cutting their cable costs and enjoying an even better experience?

Making a difference is what I want to continue to do, helping others behind the scenes. How will YOU make a difference in other people’s lives?

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Sprinting to the Winner’s Circle

My brother called me the afternoon of the 2012 election and said, “Come to the track tonight. We might have some winners.” In his 30 years of training and racing harness horses, he had never done that. So, what do you do? Do you change all your plans and go, or do you wish him good luck and stay at home on the couch watching the election results roll in? We chose to change our plans, drive to the track, and watch him win three of four races in one evening. The lessons learned were plentiful and worth sharing.

Listen. My brother had never called me to say, “Come to the track tonight”. When he did call, I listened to him, his excitement, and his need for someone special to be there to see his success.

Watch. At we sat in the clubhouse, we watched with clear vision how my brother’s horses performed. We even got to see the race replay on the TV at our table.

Support. When Grant’s horses won race after race after race, each and every time we supported him. How? We got up from our table, let our dinner get cold, and sprinted to the winner’s circle to get our picture taken with him, his daughter, the winning horse and (harness horse racing) driver.

Spontaneously Change. Sure, it was a busy day. Just getting to the voting polls and completing a full day of work was an accomplishment. But we committed to changing our evening schedule spontaneously to give time to someone else, and watch them accomplish their goals.

Grow. Because we showed up at the track during a busy day and truly supported him, it sure has further deepened the roots of our healthy relationship. This spontaneous act proved something beyond the ordinary.

Celebrate. Even if you really don’t understand the magnitude of what another person is accomplishing, embrace the moment and celebrate with them. We found that it was a blast sprinting to the winner’s circle three times in one evening and coming back to finish our cold dinner. The others in the clubhouse were sure wishing they could celebrate like that!

What we choose to do and how we choose to do it can help transform and deepen relationships, as well as results. My personal mission statement is Encourage. Embrace. Expand. This was an example of how we embraced an opportunity, encouraged others which will lead to expanding relationships and results.