I was in Key West not too long ago when I learned my mother had experienced a ministroke, or TIA, which is short for transient ischemic attack. That basically means there was a temporary drop in blood flow to her brain, but it wasn't permanently damaged. My father didn't call to tell me what had happened, so I didn't hear about it until the day after, when she was already out of hospital. She was fine, just very, very tired. When I told my dad I'd be back home as soon as I could, he told me I should stay in Florida to finish out the few remaining days that were left in the trip. I agonized over the decision the rest of the evening, finally deciding the next morning to stay. But that choice made me feel like a terrible daughter. It made me feel like a terrible person. In the end, I changed my mind and flew back early to my parents.

It was an awful feeling, being so far from home and powerless to help my mom and dad, but I was able to do one thing for them. After I got off the phone with my father, I got online and ordered my parents a grocery delivery through Instacart. It took a little of the worry and stress and even some of the guilt I was feeling off my shoulders. If I wasn't going to be there with them, at least I knew my dad wouldn't have to run out to the store, that he and mom would have fresh fruit and veggies, plenty of toilet paper, coffee, milk, and cereal—and even some comforting chicken noodle soup from our grocery store's deli.

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Courtesy of Jill Gleeson
The author and her parents at their 50th wedding anniversary party.

It's a surprisingly easy service to use. All you have to do is register—online, or through the free app for Android and iOS devices—and enter your zip code. This gets you a list of shops Instacart works with in your area; in State College, Pennsylvania, where my parents and I live, that includes not only grocery stores like Wegmans and Giant, but also CVS and Petco. Then you just search for the items you want, filling up your virtual shopping cart. You can leave notes for your shopper—like, for example, if you only want really green bananas, like my mom enjoys—and pick substitutions in case the item you want is out of stock.

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You schedule when you would like everything delivered, from one hour to seven days in advance, communicate with your shopper as they shop, and watch in real time through GPS as your order is delivered. It's all pretty nifty, and especially good for busy parents or caregivers who might have a tough time getting out of the house to go shopping. First-time users can get free delivery; after that, the delivery prices are based on the delivery time you choose. There is a service fee (a not-inconsiderable 10% of your order), which doesn't include tip, and if you compare grocery-store prices with what you pay through Instacart for the same items, there is some discrepancy. Instacart prices are occasionally higher, though sometimes they are lower, so I suppose they even out in the end. Still, for people on a tight budget, the service isn't cheap. On the other hand, in a pinch I would absolutely use it again.

In fact, I've recently discovered there are a wealth of companies I never knew of that take a little of the weight off caregivers' shoulders by bringing products and/or services right to the home. My mom, who was recently diagnosed with dementia in in addition to other health issues, is at the point where she can no longer be left alone. Right now it's just my 85-year-old dad and me trying to take care of her, with some occasional help from family and friends here and there. We don't have a lot of extra money, but we use in-home services when we absolutely have to, and are grateful every single time we do. My favorite source is Thumbtack, which you can access online or through an app.

Thumbtack is genius, really. It's an aggregate site that connects people who want to hire a professional with professionals who want to do that work. What's really amazing is it's all kinds of professionals, many of whom will come to your house: massage therapists, nutritionists, hair stylists, manicurists, people who will groom or walk your pet, counselors of all kinds, attorneys of all kinds, people who will teach you anything from singing to quilting, tech people who will set up computers and televisions (especially great for seniors), private investigators—heck, even paranormal investigators. If you want a professional to do something, chances are you can find that professional through Thumbtack.

And like Instacart, Thumbtack is easy to use. You type in what service you're looking for, add in your zip code and answer some questions to help determine who the right pro for the job is. For example, if you're looking for a house cleaner, Thumbtack will ask you things like the size of your home, how many bedrooms and bathrooms it has and how often you'd like it cleaned. After you've completed your request, within an hour or two, up to five pros will contact you with an estimate for the job. The nice thing is this is all done through Thumbtack, so they don't have your name or phone number until you give it to them, and you can look through reviews of the pros who answered your query. There isn't any fee for customers looking for service providers to use the site, either.

I used Thumbtack to hire a handyman. I was looking for someone to come to my parents' house to do a variety of things, ranging from hauling away trash to putting down new flooring in the foyer. I received ballpark estimates and from those picked three professionals to come and give me more detailed estimates, which varied widely—from over $3,000, which seemed exorbitant, to less than a thousand. I went with a good-natured fellow named Dan Johnson, who not only provided the cheapest estimate, but could start right away. I was on my way out of town again (I'm a travel writer, so I'm gone a lot) and wanted to get someone who could help us before I left. I don't think it was even a week after I'd registered on the Thumbtack site that Dan was clearing junk off my parents' back porch.

It wasn't an easy process for Dad or me to go through the decades of memories that came from the stuff we were sorting on the porch, or especially in the basement. We came across things that belonged to my father's parents, long since gone, and from my brother, who died three years ago. But we pushed on, heaping things into huge piles that Dan carried away to the dump. He also did a nice job installing the floor in the foyer, which had needed to be replaced for at least a year, ever since my father pulled up the carpeting for reasons I couldn't quite figure out. It's funny, but just getting that floor installed, and the basement and porch spic and span, made me feel instantly better, like I'd lost a heavy burden.

Another service I recently tried out, which I think is an especially big help to senior citizens and the family members who care for them, is Magic Kitchen, a company that delivers freshly prepared, frozen meals to your door. You can choose from meals that are low sodium and carb-, dairy-, gluten- or fat-free, or that are specially categorized as diabetic friendly, or dialysis friendly. The food is cooked from fresh ingredients, sealed and flash frozen, and can be reheated in a microwave or oven, depending on the dish. Deliveries can be shipped within three business days of your order placement.

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Courtesy of Magic Kitchen

The prices vary widely, depending on what you order, but they aren't inexpensive. For example, four servings of Southwest-style lasagna is a whopping $38.99, and that doesn't include shipping. It would cost $20.05 to have that order sent to my parents' house. That's a lot of money for one meal for a family of four. However, the food is good—much better than anything frozen, no matter how fancy the brand, you could buy in a grocery store. We tried dishes like salmon with pasta, beef Bourguignon, mixed vegetables and diced potatoes with herbs, and it was all about as close to a home-cooked dinner as you can get without going making it yourself or going to a restaurant.

The prices are really the only downside to services like Magic Kitchen, Instacart, and the like— when you pay for the convenience, the costs can be steep. So many Americans, particularly senior citizens, are on terribly tight budgets. I know there are a lot of people who would love to use these services regularly who can't. But for those of us who can, even very occasionally like my parents and me, they are a blessing.

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Jill Gleeson

Jill Gleeson is a travel journalist and memoirist based in the Appalachian Mountains of western Pennsylvania who has written for websites and publications including Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Country Living, Washingtonian, Gothamist, Canadian Traveller, and EDGE Media Network. Jill is the travel editor for Enchanted Living. Learn more about her journey at gleesonreboots.com.