Seriously-- we walk into the nursing home and everyone knows his name..  We don't bother signing in.  He jokes with the staff, makes other residents smile, and jokingly suggests to the residents that they take a trip to the casino, break into the kitchen, or escape.  

One of the sweetest things is when he does his mother's make-up.  He gets out the Ziploc full of cosmetics and goes to town.  He's pretty good at it too!  Here are some techniques he has developed: 

1) Give her that beach-angel look.... Remember, there isn't much natural sunlight in nursing homes.  My dad suggested that theye install a tanning bed for the ladies, but administration didn't like that idea.  So he begins the make-up application with blush, sweeping it from her cheeks up to her forehead.  Then he takes a Kleenex and blends it in.  This creates a natural, just-got-back-from-the-beach glow.  

2) Give her eyebrows to raise...  Back in her day my grandma LOVED the tweezers.  Now her eyebrows consist of a few sparse hairs.  How is grandma supposed to raise her eyebrows at us?  To fix this little issue, my dad takes an eyebrow pencil and does short strokes along her natural brow-bone.  This helps to give her facial expressions more meaning.  #1 Biggest Mistake-- using a pencil shade that is too dark.  #2 Biggest Mistake-- drawing eyebrows in a line versus using short, feathery strokes.  

3) Give her that perfect pout.... Elderly people tend to get dry, raisin-like lips when they're indoors all day long.  And have you noticed that as you age, your lips fade!?  No one feels comfortable when their lips feel chapped 24/7.  Therefore, it's the duty of children and grandchildren to revive old, dried out lips.  First: apply a layer of Chapstick.  Second: apply a nice, pinky-red lipstick.  This 2-step-application will assure long-lasting lip color and adequate moisture!

 I think it's just the sweetest thing to see my dad do this for his mom.  I hope my son would do that for me someday.  Maybe your grandmothers are highly functioning and able to do this for themselves.  So here's an idea: Volunteer at the local nursing home once a week doing make-overs or giving manicures!  Now, how beautiful is that?  :)

Love,

Dylan