12 Cheap Things Mexican Mothers Set Up for a Woman Living Alone After 60 (Before Winter)

#livingalone #after60 #oldmexicanway every old way written down: https://oldmexicanway.com Every October, on the first Saturday after the first cold night, my whole family drives to my tía Lupe's house with a bag from the Dollar Tree and a pot of caldo. She is 78 and lives alone. We do what my mother did for my grandmother, and what I did for my mother at the end: we set the house up for winter. Twelve things, most under $10, no gadgets, no remodel, nothing new for her to learn. In the order we do them, with real Walmart and Dollar Tree prices. Number one costs nothing, and it is the one families wait the longest to do. THE TWELVE 1️⃣ The eight o'clock call. Free. Four minutes about nothing, same hour every night, a different relative each night. 2️⃣ The phone list taped inside the kitchen cabinet door. Paper, marker, tape ($1.25). Family, doctor, pharmacy, gas, lights, the vecina, the parish, and the emergency number in big letters. 3️⃣ The calendar by the phone, marker on a string. $1.25. Trash day, the comadre's day, the clinic, who called. 4️⃣ The jar opener. Rubber grip $1.25, the under-cabinet one about $10. So she opens the nescafé herself. 5️⃣ The kettle that turns itself off. About $15. The stove kettle goes to the garage; the stove stays for the beans. 6️⃣ The caldo in the freezer, in butter tubs. Free. Ten portions, date on the lid, hot soup in January with no chopping. 7️⃣ Night lights in the hall and the bathroom. $1.25 each. The veladora without the flame. 8️⃣ The little rugs out, the tub mat in. About $8. The thick rubber-backed one by the bed stays. 9️⃣ The chair in the shower. Her patio chair, free, or the stool about $22, plus the handheld shower head about $12. 🔟 Lever handles on the doors that stick. About $12. And a candle rubbed on the edge that catches, the old way. 1️⃣1️⃣ The flashlight by the bed, batteries taped BESIDE it, not inside. $1.25 + $1.25. A second one in the kitchen drawer, and a battery candle on the nightstand. 1️⃣2️⃣ The rice sock. Free. One minute in the microwave, into the bed ten minutes before she gets in. We make her three. THE HONEST WORD: the twelve are not a replacement for going over. The bag is the excuse, the visit is the thing. Let her do what she still can: the opener is so she opens the jar, the chair is so she bathes herself, the list is so she makes the call. And do not say "let me know if you need anything." Do the specific thing. Who profits: the alarm button on a chain at $40 a month forever, the meals in the mail at $200 a month, the remodel, the safety catalog with the hundred-dollar jar opener. Every one is a refill, built so the family pays every month instead of visiting once in October. That is not a failure of the business. That is the business. Tonight, do one: at eight o'clock, call her. Four minutes about nothing. Then tomorrow at eight. What did your mother set up in your grandmother's house? Tell me, and your county. I read every one. CHAPTERS 0:00 The first cold Saturday 1:55 1. The eight o'clock call 3:38 2. The phone list inside the cabinet door 4:52 3. The calendar by the phone 5:32 4. The jar opener 6:25 5. The kettle that turns itself off 7:10 6. The caldo in the freezer 8:02 7. Night lights in the hall and bathroom 8:50 8. The rugs out, the mat in 9:35 9. The chair in the shower 10:26 10. Lever handles on the doors that stick 11:08 11. The flashlight, batteries beside it 12:09 12. The rice sock 12:59 The honest word: let her do what she still can 14:08 Who profits, and tonight do one #agingparents #seniorliving #wintertips