September starts the messy and beautiful change of the year. As I peer through the window of the train from Avila to El Escorial in Spain, the landscape reminds me of home: open land of dried grass, maples, pines, and oaks. It is a profound blessing to travel, knowing our team back at the office is superb in supporting our clients. Their dedication gifts me the chance to breathe new air, feel the golden sunshine from a cloudless cerulean sky, and slowly evaporate into newness.
Travel offers a clear lens: a rapidly moving day piled with multitasking, competing priorities, and strict deadlines drains our energy, raises our blood pressure, and diminishes our overall wellness. We all need recharging.
To survive the commotion of everyday life, and especially the sacrifices required of caregiving, we must learn to mirror the languid, deliberate pace of a turtle. We need to choose patience over panic, find solace over stress, and draw strength from connection through love rather than loneliness.
Caregiving is an extraordinary act of devotion, but you cannot pour from an empty cup. Replenishing your spirit isn’t a luxury; it is the foundation that allows you to move from crisis to being unburdened.
As we step into this season of new beginnings, I encourage you to pause, plan for your own rest, and give yourself permission to recharge:
Breathe in and exhale everything that you need to let go: Take five quiet minutes each morning before the demands of the day pull at your sleeve. In fact, try to find at least three separate times within 24 hours for this exercise.
Embrace the turtle’s pace: When panic creeps in, consciously slow down your movements and your breath to match a more deliberate rhythm.
Accept support: Lean on your surrounding team—whether family, friends, or community—just as I rely on mine, allowing yourself the grace to step away when needed.
Every one of us carries different burdens and moves at a unique speed, but we all require time to restore. May this September bring you the quiet space you need to nourish your well-being and welcome your own sense of newness.
Senior Centers, Meal and Food Assistance, Transportation Resources
Senior & Community Services
Mizell Center — 760-323-5689. One of the Valley’s major senior resources, offering 60+ weekly activities, education, fitness, social programs, nutrition services and other programs supporting independent aging. Mizell also operates the Coachella Valley’s Meals on Wheels program. Mizell Center
The Joslyn Center — 760-340-3220. Serves Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells and surrounding communities, with 80+ weekly programs including fitness, recreation, education, social activities, counseling and wellness programs. The Joslyn Center
Cathedral City Senior Center — 760-321-1548. Programs for adults 55+, including social and recreational activities, exercise, education, health programs, food assistance and connections to social services. Cathedral City Senior Center
Indio Senior Center — 760-391-4170. Activities, classes, events, health screenings, educational programs and assistance for adults 50+. Indio Senior Center
Eleanor Shadowen Senior Center — 760-398-0104. Recreation, physical fitness, health promotion, health screenings, nutrition programs and seasonal cooling/warming services. Coachella Senior Center
La Quinta Wellness Center — 760-564-0096. Senior programs for adults 55+, classes, wellness activities, food distribution and community-resource information. La Quinta Senior Services
Meals & Food Assistance
Meals on Wheels – Mizell Center — 760-323-5689. Mizell currently identifies itself as the only Meals on Wheels provider in the Coachella Valley, preparing and delivering more than 600 meals each weekday. Home-delivered meals are available for qualifying adults age 60+ who are homebound because of illness, disability or isolation, and service may be temporary or ongoing. Mizell Center Meals & Nutrition
For Meals on Wheels enrollment, residents can also contact their local senior center: Cathedral City 760-321-1548; Coachella 760-398-0104; Desert Hot Springs 760-329-0222; La Quinta 760-564-0096; Palm Desert 760-340-3220; Palm Springs/Mizell 760-323-5689.
The Joslyn Center Community Food Bank offers food distribution on Friday mornings, while the Cathedral City Senior Center offers an affordable lunch program and food bank, and the La Quinta Wellness Center provides food distribution and information about available assistance.
For seniors receiving CalFresh, Riverside County also participates in the Restaurant Meals Program, allowing eligible adults age 60+ and certain other qualifying recipients to use EBT benefits for prepared meals at participating restaurants. CalFresh Restaurant Meals Program
Transportation
SunLine Transit Agency provides public bus transportation throughout the Coachella Valley. Its SunDial Paratransit service provides ADA paratransit transportation for individuals whose disabilities prevent them from independently using regular fixed-route buses. Eligibility and a SunDial Paratransit ID are required. For information or eligibility assistance, call 760-343-3451. SunDial Paratransit Information
JFS Express – Jewish Family Service of the Desert provides free, volunteer-based transportation for medical appointments for registered local seniors age 60+. Registration is free. Call 760-325-4088 ext. 117 for transportation information. JFS Express Senior Transportation
Riverside County Office on Aging can also connect seniors with transportation-assistance programs based on eligibility and location. Call 877-932-4100.
Do you remember the classic book Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson, with a foreword by leadership expert Ken Blanchard? Its memorable message was about adaptability—understanding that change is inevitable and recognizing when it’s time to go looking for the “cheese” that has moved.
We know change is inevitable, yet altering our circumstances can be incredibly difficult. We stay stuck for many reasons: fear of someone else’s reaction, uncertainty about the consequences of making a change, or simply not knowing what resources are available to help us.
My experience is that people will often remain stuck in their pain until it becomes so overwhelming that they finally yell, “Uncle!” By then, what might have been manageable has often become a crisis—a juggernaut barreling toward a desert of uncertainty and increasingly unmanageable circumstances.
Some people adapt quickly to change. They recognize the warning signs, anticipate a pending crisis, and begin looking for solutions. Others remain frozen until the instinct to fight or flee finally takes over.
And sometimes, the ability to reason through a solution is itself changing.
I often see subtle signs long before a diagnosis of dementia: a bad decision here, a questionable or predatory relationship there. Changes in judgment and executive functioning can make someone more vulnerable, particularly when they are seeking emotional connection, companionship, or financial opportunity. When danger is lurking, the inability to recognize it and respond quickly can leave us vulnerable to others.
There is a consequence to every decision we make—even when the decision is to make no decision at all. Some consequences are minor; others can alter the course of our lives.
Which brings me to the importance of planning.
We plan weddings. We plan vacations. We plan for retirement. Yet surprisingly few of us take the time to create a vision of aging.
What do you want your later years to look like? Where do you want to live? Who will help you if you need care? Who will make decisions if you no longer can? And perhaps most importantly, how will you pay for the care you may need?
Increasingly, financial planners and investment advisors are coming to us to help their clients answer these questions and develop a plan for aging successfully.
My friend Stan Israel, an expert in long-term care insurance, recently pointed me toward a Forbes article titled Why Long-Term Care Planning Could Be a Defining Wealth Issue of the Next Decade. It’s an important conversation. With the cost of 24/7 care in California—and in many other parts of the country—potentially reaching tens of thousands of dollars per month, understanding the alternatives for funding care has become essential.
For many families, those costs simply aren’t sustainable over the long term. That is precisely why the conversation needs to happen before the crisis.
So, who do you have in your back pocket to help complete your plan?
Ideally, your aging team should include your physician, attorney, financial planner, and care manager—professionals who can work together to help protect your health, finances, wishes, and independence.
Life has a way of moving our cheese around when we least expect it.
The question is: When your cheese moves, will you be prepared to find it?
Helping Your Desert Landscape Thrive Through the Heat
By July, Coachella Valley gardens have entered one of the most challenging times of the year. With daytime temperatures soaring, your landscape isn’t focused on producing new growth—it’s simply trying to stay healthy until cooler weather returns.
Rather than pushing plants to perform, the best approach is to support them through the season with thoughtful watering and minimal disturbance. Sometimes, the smartest gardening strategy is knowing when to let nature take the lead.
Give Your Plants a Break
During the hottest weeks of summer, avoid major landscape projects whenever possible. Activities like heavy pruning or fertilizing encourage new growth that is especially vulnerable to extreme heat and sun exposure.
Think of your garden as being in a summer resting phase. Save shaping, feeding, and major clean-up for the fall when temperatures become more favorable and plants are ready to actively grow again.
If weeds or insects require attention, plan those tasks during the early morning or late evening when temperatures are significantly cooler. Working during the hottest part of the day can stress both you and your plants.
Make Watering Work Smarter
Your irrigation system becomes the most important tool in your landscape during July. Regularly inspect sprinkler heads, drip emitters, and timers to ensure everything is operating correctly. A single clogged emitter or broken sprinkler can quickly lead to heat damage.
One helpful technique many desert gardeners use is adding a short irrigation cycle in the late afternoon. This isn’t intended to deeply water the soil again, but rather to help lower plant temperatures before the hottest part of the evening.
Used appropriately, this quick cooling cycle can reduce heat stress and help plants recover from another scorching desert day.
Watch, Don’t Overwork
Summer is an excellent time to observe your landscape rather than constantly changing it. Look for signs of wilt, sunburn, or irrigation problems, and make small adjustments instead of major changes.
Healthy desert gardens often appear quieter during midsummer. That slower pace is completely natural and doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong.
Protect Your Landscape Through the Season
A thriving desert garden isn’t one that grows the fastest—it’s one that successfully weathers the heat and is ready to flourish again when autumn arrives.
By reducing unnecessary maintenance, watering wisely, and allowing plants to conserve their energy, you’ll set your landscape up for a strong recovery once cooler temperatures return.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for your garden is simply give it what it needs most: water, patience, and a little breathing room.
While impatiently, patiently waiting for my daughter to have her fourth child (she was a week overdue as I began writing this), I found myself caring for her three children, ages eight, six, and two.
The older two have been through this before. They understand that when a new baby arrives, Mom’s attention is naturally divided. But the youngest has reigned as the undisputed queen of the household. She’s never experienced sharing her royal subjects with anyone else.
As we navigated those uncertain days together, I found myself reflecting on the things every human being needs—whether we’re two years old or ninety-two. Sometimes profound lessons come from the smallest teachers.
The Need for Autonomy
“I can do it!”
She was determined to climb into the SUV by herself, settle into her car seat, and pull the shoulder straps over her chest. Every step required careful balancing, stretching, and determination. It took four times longer than if I had simply lifted her in, but the look of accomplishment on her face made every extra minute worthwhile.
Sometimes independence is less about efficiency and more about dignity.
The Desire to Be Heard
Once her parents left for the hospital, she quickly realized I was the one who could grant her every request.
She invited me to enjoy salads made from green felt lettuce and wooden radishes, carefully mixed in her little bowl and served with tiny wooden tongs. She pushed a child-sized shopping cart overflowing with babies sporting wild hair and partially buttoned clothing. She wanted blankets wrapped just right, books read over and over, and constant participation in her imaginary world.
She was content for long stretches, as long as she knew I was available when she needed me. More than anything, she wanted to know that someone was listening.
The Communication Gap
It wasn’t always easy to understand what she was asking for.
One afternoon she repeatedly requested “Yogi.”
I searched for toys, books, stuffed animals—anything that sounded remotely like “Yogi.” Each unsuccessful attempt increased her frustration. First came the frown, then the high-pitched scream, and finally the dramatic throwing of arms into the air.
Then it dawned on me.
She wasn’t asking for “Yogi.” She wanted yogurt bites from the snack cabinet.
Crisis averted. The world was once again safe from a full-scale toddler meltdown.
It reminded me how often frustration comes, not from unwillingness, but from simply not understanding one another.
The Need for Safety and Connection
A few mornings she woke much earlier than usual, almost as though she sensed that something significant was changing.
With her parents at the hospital, she called out repeatedly.
“Yaya! Yaya! Yaya!”
She wasn’t settling down, so I lifted her from her crib and held her. She was inconsolable.
As I rocked her and kissed her little face, I whispered over and over, “You’re okay. You’re safe.”
Gradually, her little body relaxed. Her cries stopped. She rested peacefully in my arms.
When I laid her back in her crib, I told her I would stay beside her. Every few moments she would lift her head just enough to make sure I was still there. Eventually she trusted that I hadn’t left, closed her eyes, and drifted back to sleep.
Sometimes the greatest comfort isn’t solving a problem. It’s simply the quiet assurance that someone is staying.
The Need for Consistency
The days often became rushed. We hurried to get home for nap time, planned meals around familiar routines, and tried to keep life as predictable as possible despite the excitement surrounding the new baby.
It wasn’t worth the short-term peace of sugary snacks or rearranging everything to fit my own schedule. She needed rhythms she could count on.
Consistency became an anchor. It reduced anxiety, restored peace, and helped all of us make it through the day—without overdosing on caffeine.
Lessons Beyond Toddlerhood
Watching a two-year-old reminded me that our basic human needs don’t really change with age.
We all long for a measure of independence. We all want someone to listen. We all become frustrated when we aren’t understood. We all need to know we’re safe, loved, and that someone will stay beside us when life feels uncertain. And we all find comfort in consistency when everything around us is changing.
As adults, we’ve simply become better at disguising those needs.
I also found myself thinking about our natural responses to fear: fight, flight, or freeze. If I had to guess, this little one is going to be a fighter. She doesn’t easily accept “no” for an answer. She’s strong-willed, determined, nurturing, and already willing to stand her ground. I have a feeling those qualities, shaped with wisdom and kindness, will serve her well.
And by the way…
Little Cruz finally made his grand entrance on July 26, 2026—a beautiful baby boy weighing in at an impressive 9 pounds, 4 ounces. His arrival marked not only another wonderful milestone for our family, but the beginning of a brand-new chapter for his big sister, who is learning that even queens can make room in their hearts for a little prince.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. What basic human needs would you add to this list?
Best,
Mary and The Team
Amber, Denise, Laurel, Analisa, Cami, Laura, Jenna, Debra, Rebecca, John, Ann, Shannon, and Evita
March is Nutrition Month. Food may be what comes to mind first, but true nourishment goes beyond what we eat. It includes caring for both the inside and the outside of our bodies. Are there any particular goals you have for yourself in this area?
You may be wondering what nourishing your body from the outside entails. Our bodies often react similarly to nature. When a flower receives too much or too little water or sun, it can be harmed — or even wither. You’ve probably heard phrases like “too much of a good thing” or “everything in moderation.” The same principles apply to how we care for ourselves.
Nourishing from the outside includes sensory, environmental, and physical experiences that encourage kindness toward yourself. Research shows that spending time in nature, moving our bodies, and even giving and receiving hugs can reduce stress and support mental health. If you are a caregiver — or simply looking for ways to decompress from a busy day — do you have a space that brings you a sense of calm?
Consider creating a place outside the chaos that your senses are drawn to. It might include music that lifts your mood, fresh air, beauty, or even silence. Nourish yourself with words of wisdom, laughter, rest, and meaningful connection. Socializing can be just as important as quiet time alone. Think about your influences and your mindset. Are you being nourished? Are you offering encouragement to others?
Now let’s look at nourishing the inside of our bodies. In our fast-paced lives, fueling ourselves with high-quality food can be challenging. One philosophy to consider is: “What goes in doesn’t always come out.” Think about the ingredients in highly processed foods. Johns Hopkins identifies some of the least beneficial ingredients for human health as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, sodium nitrite, artificial dyes, and flavor enhancers like MSG. Rashes, aching joints, and metabolic issues may sometimes be connected to what we eat — and in many cases, these issues can improve with better nutrition.
Healing the body often begins with simple, pure, real food. Consider the ingredients in two common liquid meal supplements. Ensure, widely used — especially among older adults — is considered an industry standard. The first five ingredients in one dairy-based product include water, sugar, corn syrup, milk protein concentrate, and canola or vegetable oil.
Other options, such as plant-based formulas like Kate Farms, highlight organic ingredients such as hydrolyzed pea protein, agave syrup, brown rice syrup, and organic high-linoleic sunflower oil. You can research and weigh the pros and cons of each ingredient to determine what may be most beneficial for you. Ultimately, consider which options are more likely to support healing and overall wellness.
Keep it simple. Keep it pure. Take small steps toward better self-care — inside and out.
Enjoy reading labels. Share what works for you. Create spaces that help your mind, body, and soul thrive. And don’t forget to laugh with friends and family along the way.
