I Wonder…

I have been thinking today about my purpose and calling in life. I have always struggled with knowing what my purpose was. I don’t have any real talents nor am I exceptionally good at anything. I thought when Nicole was diagnosed that I had found my person by being a voice for her, for other patients and caregivers. I believed that I would be involved in the PH community, CHD community and even the caregiver...

Talking with Bette

This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Bette, who cares for her mother and her three children, joined me for Table Talk. (You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post). Bette updated us on how her mom is doing (read Bette’s post yesterday) as well as how her community is coping with the flooding. We also spoke about a new segment of Your Caregiving Journey which will air...

A Lesson…

It has been another very emotional, difficult week in our life. I guess this is just what we must endure at this moment in time. This is another blog all in itself. Anyway, I was watching Joyce Meyer this morning. On Saturday’s I usually finish watching any shows from the week that I didn’t finish. I don’t always get to see the whole show because I take notes and I look up and write all the verses...

What’s Your Experience with a Sit to Stand Lift?

Over the last several days, my mother’s mobility has taken a sharp turn. It is very difficult for her to stand from a sitting position. Sometimes the difficulty comes from not knowing what to do, and other times because of stiffness or back pain.  We’ve been to the doctor regarding the pain many times; unfortunately because of the stroke and her arthritis, we have to work on managing the pain. It is...

This is the Song That Never Ends

This is the song that never ends…it just goes on and on my friend…. Ever heard this annoying little camp song?  If you ever do you’ll never get it out of your head. Well, hopefully I haven’t put it in your head now.  Doh! I used to watch the evening news and wonder what drove some people to lose their minds and do some of the crazy things they were doing.  I guess it was during the...

Fresh Start

It feels great to be back. It was exactly a month ago that I wrote my last blog, which I read tonight. I can’t believe I let myself get to that point, but happy I had everyone here as a support. It meant to me so much what each and everyone of you who commented wrote. I did take everyone’s advice and took care of myself. It’s hard to believe so much has happened in this month but I will briefly...

A Bad Day? Or, a Decline?

This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Dr. Benjamin Mast joined me a for a terrific discussion. Dr. Mast is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences and Associate Clinical Professor in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Louisville (Kentucky). You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post. The inspiration for today’s show was a...

Correcting and Dementia

We had such a nice morning on Saturday. I listened to Table Talk while making pancakes and everyone seemed to be getting along so well, and happy to have slept in.  (: I got my mother up and dressed – she had her usual muffin, banana and coffee and was enjoying a Hallmark movie.  I checked in on her several times, took her to the bathroom and all was going well. A bit later, my mother had gotten into...

Poll: What’s Caregiving’s Worst Side Effect?

It would be wonderful if caregiving came wrapped with a label, like the one the pharmacist attaches to all medications, listing all its possible side effects: Caregiving can cause weight gain. Caregiving can make friends and family disappear. Caregiving can interfere with your ability to enjoy down time. So, in this week’s poll, I’d love to know: What’s the worst side effect of caregiving?...

Labor

Caregiving can be quite laborious, can’t it? And, often, it can feel like anything but a labor of love. It can be such back-breaking labor, from the lifting, the cleaning, the transferring. And, it can be such heart-breaking labor, as you stand witness to pain, loss and struggle. It’s hard to understand why we have this kind of labor in our land. Maybe, really, it’s a labor of the soul, for both...

School of You, Fall Session I

Our fall session of our Caregiving School of You starts September 12! Join me for three-week classes that help you manage your caregiving experience. Our school is about you and your caregiving experience, to help feel better where you are right now. Our classes conveniently take place over the phone (“teleclasses”). Teleclasses are a great way to learn, share and support—without leaving your...

It Can Only Get Better From Here!

It isn’t yet 6:00AM. I’ve been up a little more than an hour. In that time I’ve cleaned a bathroom, started laundry, and well, let’s just say my morning began the way Trish’s ended the other night. I have a meeting here at 7:45 this morning. Being not just the good, but the perfect hostess, at 5:06 I started making my grandmother’s coffee cake recipe from scratch. It needed to be...

FB Status Rewind: Sharing a Smile

Blog Hog! Things that make you go hmm, Things that make you smile, Things that make you go LOL!! We live a simple and easy life Tues. Aug 23: Hubby has complained about not being able to see well for a very long time. Since the V.A. is too slow for him and I needed an exam myself, we both went and had exams with a local Eye Dr. After his exam Dr told him his eyesight wasn’t much if any different than his...

Lewy’s Bicycle Escape Dream

It’s been an interesting few days at Lewy’s House. In particular, If you remember Lewy decided he needed a bicycle. One was purchased for him but he was unable to ride it. Then he started talking about an adult trike. I delayed him as long as I could until a trip to a local bike shop was made Friday. My anxiety always raises its red flags any time we have to travel from home. Knowing Lewy has been...

Just Call it a Day When Even Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies is Difficult

I wrote this late last night but was too pooped to post it here. This was my day yesterday . . . I haven’t baked cookies in a while but, by now, I have baked a few batches in my life – it’s really not that hard. Aside from the occasional (okay, always) ability to set off the fire alarm (keep in mind, with very few actual fires), I can make a pretty tasty chocolate chip cookie. Today, the universe really tried...

Sharing my Feelings

I am finding myself again not wanting to express my feelings or share what I am going through. I’m finding a lot of pain again in my feelings and can’t handle what I feel. I know that blogging will help but to feel it while typing is painful and I sit here and I cry. I have been so worried about my mom. She was hospitalized twice within the past month and it’s starting to get to me. Mom had the...

Another Doctor…

Nicole had her monthly blood work on Friday. This month she had to have her vitamin D tested to see if the supplement she’s been taking for three months has brought her numbers up. I received a call late Friday afternoon from Genny who is the cardiologist’s nurse. She said she did get the results of the standing blood tests but didn’t get the vitamin D results. She told me that Nicole’s...

I Lost It!

A storm’s been building this afternoon, which is very unusual for southern California at this time of year. We did have a little bit of rain which is also unusual for this time of year, so we had to go outside to experience it. Right now it’s very cloudy out so I don’t think the weather is done. For a couple of weeks, I was acting a lot like today’s weather. First, I was called into a meeting in the band...

Wrapping Up Loose Ends

Another bittersweet kind of week here. For those of you who are aware of Hurricane Irene’s impact on Vermont, we were fortunate to not be directly hit. However, every road that leads east is cut off at this time and the damage is truly mindboggling. A week ago today Paul played his last church service; it was also the day Irene hit Vermont. What a fitting metaphor as I sat in the balcony of the church letting...

See

Some days, you may want to scream to the world (or perhaps to just a few inhabitants of your world): “See!! Do you SEE!! what my life has become? Do you see?” Because all you can see are doors that close, people who leave and luck that brings bad. You’re drowning in your life. What if you could look beyond the sea of despair to the ocean of opportunities? What if you could see beyond...

The Weight of the World…

This can be such an understatement some days. I am trying not to feel like a complete and utter failure. We have known for 18 months that this day would be coming when we needed to find new insurance. I had no idea the complete mess that this was going to involve. I didn’t know the cost, even though I had an idea. I didn’t think that I would be looking at losing my house because I have to choose between...

Accepting to Find the Fairness of Life

This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Holly, who cares for her husband, joined me to share her story of accepting her truth in her life. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post. Holly shared a time in her life when she felt her inner light had been turned off. She was already caring for Dave, diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2006, when she learned they had lost all their...