Posted in Alzheimer's, aging, amazon, authors, book club, bookstores, boomer, boomer women, breaking point, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiver stress, caregiving, daughters, death, dementia, depression, dying, elder care, eldercare, elderly, emotional, end of life, family, family caregiving, geriatrics, grieving, guilt, healthcare, hospice, inspirational, memoir, mid-life crisis, pallative care, relationships, sandwich generation, senior care, spiritual teachers, will to live, women's health on July 14, 2008 | No Comments »
Do You Realize You Will Most Likely Care Give More Than Once?
I compare caregiving the first time around to being chased by a hungry/angry bear as you’re running a marathon. Sure, you’ve got to pace yourself, but you also better run like hell.
You don’t usually have the time or foresight to plan your caregiving [...]
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Posted in Alzheimer's, Blogroll, Daddy, aging, amazon, authors, book club, books, bookstores, boomer, boomer women, boomers, breaking point, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiver stress, caregiving, cats, chaos, dads, daughters, death, dementia, depression, elder care, elder driving, elderly, emotional, end of life, faith, geriatrics, grieving, guilt, healthcare, home passing, hospice, inspirational, joy and purpose, kunati, law of attraction, marketing, marriage, memoir, menopause, mothering, mothers, neurology, oprah, pallative care, psychologists, relationships, sandwich generation, senior care, seniors, spiritual, spiritual teachers, therapists, will to live, wisdom, women, tagged Grief, dogs, sanctuary, cats, garage, sacred objects on July 8, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Caregivers,
Do you have a place to go?
A sanctuary?
If not, it may be a big part as to why you’re stressed and resentful.
Caregiving invades your space, your head, your time–you don’t always get to say when you’re needed.
I pulled many a “late night shift” with my mom.
My mother had Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and not only did [...]
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Posted in Alzheimer's, aging, amazon, authors, book club, book reviews, boomer women, boomers, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiver stress, daughters, death, dementia, depression, elder care, eldercare, elderly, emotional, end of life, family, family caregiving, geriatrics, grieving, guilt, healthcare, heart disease, home passing, hospice, inspirational, memoir, mothering, mothers, pallative care, parents, parkinson's, relationships, sandwich generation, senior care, seniors, will to live, wisdom, women's health on July 1, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Making end-of-life decisions for a loved one is a very scary thing.
Yet families are the ones that most often decide.
This is a part of caregiving we didn’t think about–or think all the way through.
No one wants to feel responsible for deciding if another person lives–or doesn’t live.
But you may find yourself in this very situation.
What [...]
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Posted in affection, aging, amazon, atlanta georgia, authors, book reviews, books, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiving, community care, daughters, dementia, dying, elder care, elderly, emotional, faith, family, family caregiving, grieving, healthcare, inspirational, memoir, parents, sandwich generation, spiritual, wisdom, women, tagged adoption, Atlanta, birth parents, Daytona Beach, Father's Day, Greyhound bus on June 2, 2008 | No Comments »
Children (of all ages, including grown) need a daddy.
I know I did. I needed his protection, wisdom, and manly sweetness so different from anyone else’s.
Many people who grow up with dad in the house take him for granted. Only later, or perhaps after a heart attack or stroke do we realize what a gift our [...]
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Posted in Alzheimer's, adult day cares, aging, amazon, authors, book reviews, books, boomer, boomer women, brain games, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiver stress, caregiving, church, community care, dementia, depression, elder care, eldercare, elderly, emotional, end of life, family, family caregiving, geriatrics, global healthcare, guilt, healthcare, heart disease, home passing, hospice, hospital, humor, inspirational, intimacy, kunati, law of attraction, memoir, mothering, neurological disorders, parenting, parents, parkinson's, relationships, sandwich generation, senior care, seniors, spiritual, women, women's health, tagged aging in place, long term care, medicaid, medicare on June 1, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Face it, times are tough.
Can you afford to stay in your own home? Are you well enough to manage everything on your own?
Are you recently widowed and wonder if living by yourself is such a good idea?
Are you a boomer or sandwich generationer wondering how to care for/pay for your kids, your parents and save [...]
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Posted in Alzheimer's, Barnes & Noble Bookstores, abc.com, aging, amazon, authors, boomer, boomer women, boomers, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiver stress, caregiving, church, dark humor, daughters, death, dementia, depression, doctors, dying, elder care, eldercare, elderly, end of life, faith, family, family caregiving, geriatrics, grey's anatomy, grieving, guilt, health, healthcare, home passing, hospice, hospital, inspirational, joy and purpose, kunati, memoir, mid-life crisis, mothering, neurological disorders, neurology, parkinson's, passion, perfectionist, psychologists, publishing, relationships, sandwich generation, senior care, spiritual, spiritual teachers, therapists, trauma, wisdom, women, women's health, tagged alcoholics, carl jung, codepent, grey's anatomy, los angeles times, mid-life, nimh, relationship addiction, therepists, wounded healer on May 29, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Do you need to be needed?
Carl Jung called it, “The Wounded Healer.”
Caregivers, whether they come by it willingly or are drug into their caregivingroles, become accustomed to being needed. It’s comforting and satisfying to know that you have a purpose.
But what do you mean when you say, “wounded healer?” Is that a bad thing?
Wounded healer [...]
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Posted in ALS, Alzheimer's, Barnes & Noble Bookstores, USA Today, abc.com, adult day cares, affection, aging, amazon, authors, book club, book reviews, books, boomer women, boomers, boston, brain, breaking point, cancer, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiver stress, caregiving, community care, death, dementia, depression, doctors, dying, elder care, elder rage, eldercare, elderly, emotional, end of life, faith, family, family caregiving, geriatrics, golden years, grieving, healthcare, home passing, hospice, hospital, inspirational, intimacy, joy and purpose, kunati, memoir, mothering, mothers, neurological disorders, neurology, pallative care, parkinson's, relationships, sandwich generation, senior care, spiritual, transformation, trauma, will to live, women's health, writing, tagged boston legal, james spader, william shatner, Michael J. Fox, team fox, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, USA Today, Ted Kennedy, malignant brain tumor, sailing, maya angelou, power of prayer on May 22, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Last night, the television show Boston Legal had one profound moment relating to Alzheimer’s.
The premise is that one of their leading characters, Denny Crane (played by William Shatner) has early Alzheimer’s. He’s a brilliant attorney who has never lost a case–and he’s part owner in firm. The other law partners are hesitant for Denny [...]
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Posted in ALS, Alzheimer's, Borders Bookstores, affection, aging, amazon, book club, book reviews, boomer women, breaking point, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiver stress, caregiving, community care, daughters, death, dementia, elder care, eldercare, elderly, emotional, end of life, family, family caregiving, geriatrics, grieving, health, healthcare, hospice, humor, inspirational, law of attraction, marriage, memoir, mothering, neurological disorders, neurology, parents, parkinson's, psychologists, publishers, relationships, sandwich generation, senior care, seniors, speaking, spiritual, support groups, television, walking, will to live, women, women's health, tagged Alzheimer's Association, fundraisers, karate, Michael J. Fox, mountain climbing on May 16, 2008 | 6 Comments »
You can’t watch someone you love struggle with a disease and not be affected.
But what can you do?
As a caregiver, family member or friend, you can’t make it go away.
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are two debilitating diseases that are slow and grueling and take a toll on people’s spirits, and affects everyone around them. For some, they [...]
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Posted in Alzheimer's, adult day cares, affection, aging, amazon, book club, book reviews, books, boomer, boomer women, breaking point, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiver stress, caregiving, church, community care, daughters, dementia, depression, doctors, elder care, eldercare, emotional, end of life, family, family caregiving, geriatrics, grieving, guilt, healthcare, home passing, hospice, hospital, humor, inspirational, intimacy, joy and purpose, law of attraction, marketing, marriage, memoir, menopause, mid-life crisis, mother-in-laws, mothering, mothers, nerves, neurological disorders, neurology, pallative care, parents, passion, perfectionist, prayer, relationships, sandwich generation, senior care, seniors, sex, spiritual, spiritual teachers, walking, will to live, wisdom, women, women's health, writing on May 15, 2008 | 1 Comment »
There’s a new kind of caregiver out there.
She (or he) is a savvy caregiver, isn’t a martyr, and doesn’t look defeated (all the time).
She (I use the feminine pronoun to apply to everyone) has her act together (in some respects) and isn’t going to let her life and her plans be completely derailed–and yet she loves [...]
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Posted in Alzheimer's, affection, amazon, books, boomer women, care partner, care receiver, caregiver, caregiver stress, caregiving, dark humor, daughters, death, dementia, dying, elder care, eldercare, emotional, end of life, family, family caregiving, geriatrics, grieving, guilt, health, healthcare, home passing, hospice, humor, inspirational, kunati, marriage, memoir, mother-in-laws, mothering, neurological disorders, neurology, relationships, sandwich generation, senior care, spiritual, wisdom, women, writing, tagged acceptance, boomer, forgiveness, Grief, inspirational essays, memoirs, memorials, mother's day, mourning, remembrance, stories, woman on May 12, 2008 | 5 Comments »
Dear Mother,
This is my fifth Mother’s Day without you.
I should clarify: without you physically here.
You are indeed, here.
I talk to you and listen to you more than ever. Never thought I’d say that.
Your stories, wisdom, advice, and crazy sayings all come out of my mouth.
Your stories, wisdom, advice, and all crazy sayings come out of [...]
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