From far away, you cannot clear a walk or clean a gutter in the middle of a weekday. But you can carry the work on your visit, or hire it out and check it from your phone. The right choice turns on three things: how risky the job is, how often it has to happen, and whether you can see the result.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Sort the house jobs by risk and frequency

List the regular jobs: snow clearing from the walk and drive, gutter cleaning, mowing or leaf clearing, trash cans to the curb, and any branch that touches the house. Mark each one as low risk or high risk. A job that needs a ladder or a roof edge is high risk, and it should not default to you or to her. A job that is easy but frequent, like the walk in winter, is usually better hired than remembered.

Ask the right questions of anyone you hire

Ask whether the worker is insured for this kind of job, whether the scope of work is written down, who to call if a visit is missed, and how they handle heavy snow or a cancelled day. Ask whether the same person comes each time. Ask for a short note or a photo after each visit, so you can check what was done without being in the house.

Decide what you do on your visit

Pick the jobs that are infrequent and low risk and fit into your trip: a gutter clean once a season, a bush cut back, a loose cabinet fixed. Schedule them into your visit, and write down what you did so the next trip does not repeat the list. Leave the high-risk jobs to professionals, even if it takes a few more calls to find one.

What to do tonight

Write the jobs down in three columns: do on visit, hire out, ask a neighbor. Pick one hired job and find out who could be called for a visit or a repeat. Confirm who has a key or access to the outside of the house.

What to leave with the doctor

Bring the doctor a plain list of the tasks that have become hard for her physically, such as bending, reaching, or climbing stairs. Ask which of those tasks she should stop doing alone and whether her strength or balance should be checked. The doctor makes those calls. Your list tells them what the house now asks of her.

If you are looking for who to call in St. Louis, Local Help for a St. Louis Parent is a starting point.