Food

When a fridge is full with food, a house feels rich. When it’s empty, the house feels poor. Are you full of the food which helps you feel your life’s riches? Food which can help you feel full includes: –Friendships which support; –Quiet time which calms; –Touch which gives love; –Activities which invigorate; –Habits which promote health; –Relationships which...

Conflicting Emotions and Blessings

My heart is filled with so many conflicting emotions tonight. I still feel burdened by the fact that I know we have taken another step backwards in my husband’s disease. Just the fact that I have to help him every time he goes to the bathroom so we don’t endanger him of falling and that I am now helping him into bed means we are taking another step backwards. It also means I have to get up in the middle of...

June 6

First I want to thank everyone for the kind comments on my last post. I’ve been really off the computer lately because of carpal tunnel. Tomorrow I go to see a wrist specialist and I want to set surgery for July. Enough pain! Mum started talking again! Why, we don’t know, but she’s back speaking! It’s a relief! She seems to be having another episode of erysipela. We’re giving her...

If… You Could Minimize a Worry, Which Would It Be?

Two weeks ago, Karol Ward joined us for our book club discussion of her book, “Worried Sick, Break Free from Chronic Worry to Achieve Mental and Physical Health.” During our discussion, I asked Karol: How does the worry about caregiving differ than other times you’ve worried? Karol spoke about the difficulty in making decisions on behalf of her mother as well as the worry involved in putting her...

“Safe and Sound”

We often say to someone who has been on a long trip, “I’m glad you’re back, ‘safe and sound’”.  Before I got out of bed this morning, I was thinking about what it might be like to feel “safe and sound” in caregiving. Caregivers often are not able to take a long trip or even have sufficient time away, but it must be a wonderful feeling if you can feel “safe and...

Forcing the Issue

This morning, on Table Talk, I talked about forcing, which relates to one of our questions this week: What do you force? You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post. During our discussion, I mention Stopping the Shoulding, one of our shows with Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, our happiness expert. In addition, these resources may help as you move from forcing to trusting: Breaking Free from Chronic...

How… Will You Be Happy Today?

It’s Saturday, the day we take a moment to do something which brings us happiness. The moment could be spent in quiet, with a friend, with a good book, in your garden, with your caree, with another family member. I am happy when I see one of the garden photos from our Facebook fans. I’ve included a photo with this post. I am happy. And, then tell us. How will you be happy...

Friday Fun: Give Us the Guffaws

It’s Friday, so let’s share some funnies. What’s a humorous experience that’s happened to you in your caregiving role? It could be something that happened years ago or just yesterday, as long as today it makes you giggle. We’ll giggle with you. Please share in our comments section. And, we’ll give away a We Break from Me! journal from our We Break for Me store plus an autographed copy of...

Join Our Happiness Project

In her book, “The Happiness Project” Gretchen Rubin challenges herself to find greater happiness in her ordinary life. She chooses to make adjustments that affect her day-to-day existence in order to achieve and sustain the feeling of happiness. She does this so that when a crisis occurs (she worries about the future health of her husband), she’ll have learned the tools to stay happy. She’s...

Love: The Universal Foreign Language

Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, our happiness expert, joined us today for our monthly discussion on how we enhance the happiness in our lives. Today, we talked about understanding how others give and receive love in order to increase our happiness in our relationships. Specifically, we spoke about the five languages. (You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of this post.) Dr. Gary Chapman author of The 5...

Call for Participants for Early Memory Loss Research Study

The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Grand Opportunity (ADNI GO) needs volunteers to participate in a research study to better understand the progress of Alzheimer’s disease. The study is looking for volunteers experiencing early signs of memory loss. By being able to recognize changes in the brain, scientists hope to treat memory loss and other symptoms of AD before they appear, but the only way...

2010 Family Caregiver Survey Results

What’s caregiving like for you? We asked and you told us. Listen to our webinar, led by Denise Brown, which shares the survey results here. For $9.95, you also can purchase a PDF of the survey report which contains results and write-in answers. Click the “Buy Now” button, below, to purchase. Once we receive your payment, we’ll email you the PDF. If you plan to add or enhance caregiving services...

Tell Us: What Do You Force?

Helping my mom put away groceries has become an eye-opening experience. Her cabinets are very organized; you can easily find what you need. All is organized by a caring hand. But then I watch my mom re-fill the napkin holder. She’ll grab a large stack of napkins and then shove, shove, shove the stack into the holder until they somehow fit. The first person to take a napkin is in for a fight. As the first...

When… Did Insensitivity Leave You Speechless?

Yesterday, Bette shared a comment she received which may take the cake when it comes to insensitive comments: “A lady stopped in (we both do volunteer work for the same organization) to ask me if I would like to participate on a more regular basis,” Bette wrote. “Right now, because of my mother’s needs and how unpredictable they are, I am on an ‘as needed basis’. When I...

13 Community Colleges Win Awards for Caregiving Training

The International Longevity Center, with support from MetLife Foundation, has selected 13 community colleges to receive $15,000 grants for caregiver training programs. The 2010 Community College Training Initiative grants are part of the Caregiving Project for Older Americans, a partnership of the International Longevity Center and the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education. They are intended to...

This Week’s Poll: Will You Take a Summer Vacation?

This week’s poll, sponsored by Caregiving.com and eCareDiary.com, asks about your plans for a summer vacation. Please cast your vote below and share any additional thoughts in our comments section. Thanks for voting! Will You Take a Summer Vacation?online...

2000 Family Caregiver Survey Results

We recently released our 2010 Annual Family Caregiver Survey results. We thought it would be fun to take a look ten years ago at our 2000 survey results. In 2000, 63 family caregivers completed our survey. What follows is a synopsis of the survey, which asks about demographics, community service utilization, support group utilization, Internet utilization and the best/worst parts of the ...

2000 Survey Results: What Life Lesson Learned?

In our 2000 Family Caregiver Survey, we asked survey respondents: What has been your greatest lesson learned as a result of your caregiving experiences? Respondents said: That we all can be in the same situation. Try to be kind, understanding and help them to make their time enjoyable. No matter what I do it isn’t enough and my mother is seldom happy. The satisfaction and joy of taking care of my mom; a great...

2000 Survey Results: Advice for New Family Caregivers?

In our 2000 Family Caregiver Survey, we asked survey respondents: What advice would you give to a new family caregiver? Here are their responses: Don’t be afraid to ask. Good luck. Learn everything you can about elder rights. Don’t accept anything but the best care for your loved one. Speak up for them. Think twice about everything, don’t take on more than you can handle. Don’t do it...