Currently Browsing: Holiday Survival Guide
For this holiday, I wish for you:
1. A moment of faith that helps you continue;
2. A smile that reminds you that love surrounds you;
3. A glimpse into a future that inspires you;
4. A connection that shows you who you are;
5. A time that brings enough laughter to calm the fears.
Happy Holidays! Thanks for making our year and our days very special.
Related Articles
Holiday Talk (caregiving.com)
Show Recap: Your...
I presented workshops in November and December about surviving the holidays. During the workshops, attendees shared their favorite holiday traditions. A few stood out for me, including:
—Take time to give thanks with a Thanksgiving gratitude tree. I love this tradition, started by a family many years ago, which you can adapt for New Year’s Eve. Each family member writes one gratitude on a piece paper...
This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Holly, who cares for her husband, joined me for Table Talk. You can listen to our show via the player below.
Our conversation today centered on trusting our life, which can seem utterly impossible when life seems too difficult or unfair. Holly shared that her life is better when she trusts, when she surrenders. When life seems tough to her, she’ll ask herself,...
Our Holiday Progressive Blog Party started yesterday. We continue today with a new site to visit and a winner to congratulate.
Be sure to visit:
CaregivingLibrary.com: CaregivingLibrary.com, started and managed by CareConscious.com, gets more valuable caregiving best practices, resources, tips, interviews, and insights into the hands of Family Caregivers of older adults. CareConscious currently assists Family...
It’s a cook-free (and dirty dish-less!) Progressive Party.
Throughout the week of December 4, we’re stopping by the blogs of family caregivers, dropping off holiday well-wishes and good cheer. Our party also includes companies that provides services and/or products to help family caregivers.
You can see the participating blogs and websites here. Simply visit each site sharing comfort, cheer and your story as...
Thanks so much to the following blogs and websites that have joined our Third Annual Holiday Progressive Blog Party! Throughout the week of December 4, we’ll stop by the blogs of family caregivers, dropping off holiday well-wishes and good cheer. Our party also includes companies that provides services and/or products to help family caregivers.
Be sure to stop by each site during the week. When you stop by, share...
On Tuesday evening, we aired our live call-in episode on Your Caregiving Journey. We asked you to call in and share your answer to this question: What’s your best tip for managing the holidays and caregiving? You can listen to the show via the player, below.
We spoke about participating in holiday celebrations when you might not feel up to a party. G-J called in to share her two tips and Bette talked out a...
Yesterday, I led our free monthly webinar, 10 Gifts to Give Yourself. I described the gifts you can give yourself—free gifts which require no shopping. Even better, you can open the gifts today, as soon as you decide to receive them. (Did you miss the webinar? No worries! It’s archived here.)
So, I’d love to know, of the 10 gifts I spoke of, which will you give yourself? Please share in our...
This morning, Claire Day, Vice President of Constituent Services for the Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter, joined me for our monthly discussion about dementia care. We spoke about how to keep your caree’s spirituality alive—in your house worship and at home. You can listen to our show via the player below.
Claire and I shared thoughts about the importance of involving your caree in...
Every-other-Sunday, we meet on Twitter at 8 p.m. ET to talk about a topic related to your caregiving role. Our Twitter chats are a great way to share and connect with other family caregivers while gaining a perspective on your situation.
Last night, during our chat, we met to share ways to manage the stress of caregiving and the holiday season. We chatted about holiday traditions and recipes we love, as well as...
10 Reasons to Be Thankful for Your Caregiving Role
1. A built-in excuse to cut back on time spent with certain family members over the holidays. What a great way to cut down of these distasteful side dishes of judgments and opinions. Who needs those calories!
2. You’re crabby? Someone even ventures to question your crabbiness? Give them the throwdown: “It’s the caregiving.” And, it’s not even a...
You sit expectantly by the window in your living room, watching for the blue van that brings your daughter and her family for their visit. Although the holidays are hectic, this is the part of the season you relish: The opportunity to see those family members and friends who rarely drop by anymore. These visits mean a great deal to you; for a few hours, you can be someone other than a caregiver.
You feel good about...
Often, the relatives you see the least can be the family members who try your patience and sanity the most. It’s your husband’s sister, who calls only twice a year, but insists on chastising you for not providing the “best care” for her brother. These encounters don’t seem so bad over the telephone. But, face-to-face, well, those are the run-ins you just dread.
Keep in mind that these...
This time of year it seems as if you only hear one question: “What do you want for Christmas or Hanukkah?” We’ve come up with some gift ideas for the family caregiver.
1. Coupons for a monthly massage.
2. A gift certificate to pay for four hours of companion or home health aide service.
3. Payment to cover two days at the local adult day center, so you’ll have two days to enjoy.
4....
Image via Wikipedia
For some reason, we believe the best time of the year should be the holiday season: When we enjoy friends and families, receive wonderful presents, eat amazing food without gaining any weight.
Sounds like a Christmas tale, doesn’t it? It seems expectations imposed on us—from advertising on television, in department stores—that the holiday season is full of love, joy and...
You’re already walking your “holiday” walk—slumped forward, as if the weight of planning and preparing for the holidays rests squarely on your shoulders. The approaching holiday season is stressful anyway, but with your concerns and worries and caregiving responsibilities, the stress can be overwhelming.
When planning for this year’s holiday season, keep in mind the real purpose of the...
A holiday visit may provide a closer look into your aging relative’s life and routine. And, sometimes that look yields concern.
Your aging relative may need more help if:
1. You find that some bills, such as for utilities, have been unpaid.
2. You find a stack of unopened mail.
3. The refrigerator is stocked with old food; you can’t find any fresh groceries.
4. Your aging relative has lost weight and...
It’s the holidays! What would a good, decadent, calorie-laden meal be without a case of red face, churning stomach and steam pouring from your ears?
There’s no time like the holidays for a good dose of button pushing. And, your family members can push your buttons like no one else.
How often do your buttons get pushed? Take our quick test:
1. It’s time to carve the turkey, which you’ve purchased...
It’s coming: The holiday season. Unfortunately, stress and frustration seem to come as well.
As you think about the upcoming holiday season, consider: What do you want?
Perhaps you’d like a year off and would like another family member to host a holiday. Or, perhaps you’d like to host a holiday (it’s easier than transporting your caree) but you’d prefer that the meal be pot-luck (everyone brings...
The room spun. Heather found herself looking at the turkey in the oven; two empty pans on the stove; her husband, in his wheelchair, handing her a potholder; and her daughter and her family coming through the backdoor—all with muddy boots.
She’s not sure what did it for her: The empty pots which reminded her that she had forgotten to make the mashed potatoes and gravy; her husband, spending his first holiday...
How is everyone doing? I thought it would be helpful to have a holiday check-in. Our check-in gives you a chance to share, vent, complain. You also can tell us about any good news you may have—because we love to hear that, too.
So, when you can, update us about how you’re doing in our comments section below.
“Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.” ~ Dale...
Image by Alice Harold via Flickr
This is the season of counting: We count how many gifts we give so equal distribution is assured. We count how much money we have to spend on gifts. We count the days until the Big Day.
Sometimes, during the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we can feel under-counted. We may wonder: Do I count?
It can be hard to see that you count when others get caught up in their counting,...
