It’s my favorite time of year, when inboxes are filling with season’s greetings and creativity seems to get a reboot. If you’re lucky enough to get paid for coming up with holiday sentiments, like I am, then you know it’s always fun to come up with a good idea — but rarely is it easy.
Tip #1 for Holiday Magic: Collaborate with the right people.
When tasked with creating this year’s annual holiday e-card, I worked with two of my favorite idea partners here at GlynnDevins: Digital Art Director Chris Wilson and Video Content Specialist Jill Sundgren. That was the first step to success, because we shared a common view of the task at hand.
Tip #2 for Holiday Magic: See if you can get away with it.
The actual goal was to deliver a holiday greeting that demonstrates how much fun we have serving our clients every day. But Chris, Jill and I saw another opportunity, too: the chance to relive a childhood dream and star in a music video.
Tip #3 for Holiday Magic: Have fun.
A healthy dose of childlike enthusiasm is always good to bring to the table when your job is to “be creative,” but when you’re working on a holiday card that requires staff members to revisit the ’80s, and dance like no one’s watching, then it’s crucial.
Happy holidays, everyone! Here’s to a season full of creativity, with a little holiday magic from GlynnDevins.
New York. Chicago. Boston. And now Kansas City. There is a new concept in town, one that supports a group of seniors who are often lost in the world of senior living — grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.
It all started when a real estate guy and an architect guy got together. They worked with Housing Services of Kansas City and the Family Friends Program of Children’s Mercy Hospital, a support program for these families.
Pemberton Park For Grandfamilies is now open, providing 36 apartment homes in two buildings. Along with the standard design features for seniors, every floor provides views of the city, and rotating photo displays so residents can get to know one another. There’s a playground for the kids, with benches for their grandparents.
It’s a testament to the power of collaboration, and the importance of community encouragement. I look forward to hearing the personal stories of success that come from Pemberton Park, and sharing them with you.
Last week I was visiting my dad at his retirement community, and I was talking with his neighbor Rex. We were discussing the difficult transition of moving from your house — which is often the one you’ve lived in the longest.
“It took a good year for me to feel like I was home,” Rex explained. “But sooner or later, you get tired of looking in the rearview mirror and reminiscing. I want to look and see what’s ahead. I want to keep moving forward.”
It was such a beautiful sentiment, that after silently wondering if Rex might be available for a testimonial campaign, I told him he should charge for that kind of inspirational talk.
Rex is only one of many neighbors on the floor I’ve befriended; I’ve pretty much fallen in love with the entire third floor of Building C in the year since my dad moved in. It all started in December, when I brought loads of homemade cookies over and handed them out to all the neighbors, to give us a chance to meet them and visit. My dad seemed less anxious (especially when I told him I wasn’t the one who made the cookies) and we had a great evening together.
When he first moved in, my dad constantly compared his new home to his old one. Now when I visit, he tells me how Bonnie’s dog Chester flopped in front of him for a belly rub, or how Virginia shared all the gossip in the laundry room, or how Rex picked up his newspaper for him while he was out.
I always hear residents say it’s the people who make their community such a wonderful place to live, and now I really understand why. When you’re blessed with caring neighbors who become friends, it makes all the difference in your experience.
If you have a story of how residents are making life better for one another, please share.
On May 1, while unwinding from the dizzying display of storybook romance that is the Royal Wedding, I’ll be watching CNN’s first special with Larry King: Unthinkable: The Alzheimer’s Epidemic.
If the thought of wrapping up your royal weekend with doom and gloom seems too depressing, keep reading: Together with King, Ronald Reagan’s son will travel to the research and treatment center for Alzheimer’s (and other neurological diseases) designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. The building is shaped like a brain, so every day, a dedicated team of scientists and physicians literally go inside the mind, working to cure Alzheimer’s disease. Pretty inspiring stuff.
Becoming a princess is fantastic, but saving even one person from Alzheimer’s disease? Now, that’s the fairy tale I’d like to see come true.
My hero, Betty White, is at it again — breaking barriers when it comes to aging. Her latest act, after celebrating her 89th birthday with us in Kansas City, is to produce and host her own television show. The concept of the show is senior citizens “punking” younger people with pranks. (Gotta love the fact that it’s tentatively titled Off Their Rockers.)
What I find most inspiring about Betty is that she has done more to debunk my least favorite myth of aging — that your best years are behind you — in the past year than most people do in a lifetime. Let’s not forget, her appearance on Saturday Night Live gave the show its highest ratings in 18 months.
Who are the Bettys in your community? Do share your stories. We know you’ve got them!
It’s my favorite time of year, when inboxes are filling with season’s greetings and creativity seems to get a reboot. If you’re lucky enough to get paid for coming up with holiday sentiments, like I am, then you know it’s always fun to come up with a good idea — but rarely is it easy.
