Grandma helping out -

My Mom is pretty much as you describe your grandmother. At Christmastime, we had her with us for five days, and she really did enjoy being a part of everything in the kitchen. However, her coordination and strength had deteriorated so there wasn't a whole lot she could do.

We sat her at a chair, brought up a low table, and gave her a whole bunch of green beans to snap off the ends, and cut into bite-sized pieces into a colander - it took her awhile but she enjoyed helping out.

When it was salad time, she was able to help cut up the cukes, and break up the lettuce into a large bowl. Tomato slicing seemed a bit beyond her coordination with a knife.

She was no longer able to help cook anything, not strong enough to stand at the stove any longer, but she was able to set the silverware and napkins beside the plates.

Just having her sitting near all of us who were working in the kitchen seemed to make her very happy, and whenever we started on something, we'd try to see if she could handle it, too, working along with us.

It's going to be a trial and error on what your grandma seems able to do - you'll kind of get the hang of her capabilities after giving her some initial tasks to do on her own.

Treasure these moments with her - time is short.

Love, June