Congrats to Anita and Francine, who won a stocking stuffed by one of Santa’s special elves. You can win, too! Today’s the last day to win one of our stockings as well as our other gifts: Amazon.com gift cards, autographed copies of my books, a set of note cards, a six-month subscription to CogniFit Personal Coach and three coaching sessions with me. We’ll announce our winners tomorrow.

Thanks so much to all of you for making this week so much fun! I loved seeing you on the party circuit and loved meeting our new visitors. If you’re new to our site, please feel free to share your story in our comments below. We’d love to meet you!

And, a very special thank you to Santa’s special elf, who created the very special Christmas stockings we gave away this week. You are an awesome elf!!

Updates:

• Table Talk airs today at Noon CT (1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT). Ryan, who blogs about technology for us, will join us. You can listen live here.
• Our Holiday Progressive Blog party starts tomorrow! Be sure to stop by Caregiving.com tomorrow to start the party. We’re giving away a gift a day during the week-long event. And, when the party ends next Saturday, we’ll have more prizes. Do you blog about caregiving? Add your blog to our directory. Details here.

Share in our comments section below.

Resources

• Have your holiday your way—and with our support. Take our November class, “Making My Own Holiday Magic.” Register here.
• Your Caregiving Journey next airs on Tuesday, November 9, at 1 p.m. CT. We’ll talk about how you can make specific requests for help from family and from service providers. You can listen to our show here.

(I loved reading Jo’s post, below, which made me very happy. Thanks to all who share and contribute to the site through blog posts and comments. I’m so grateful to all of you.)

Then, let us know what you did. How were you happy today?

Happiness exist in your day and exists just for you. On this Saturday, how will you take happiness?

She cares for her husband who has Alzheimer’s. She’s been caring for him for six years. Recently, he’s been asking repetitive questions. “He usually asks these questions when we are eating and sitting together,” she writes. “Maybe this is the only way he knows how to communicate with me. When I try to redirect, it only lasts about a minute and he will start again. I haven’t had this happen as much before; now he just keeps asking the same question until we finish eating or I tell him he can go to bed.”

So, how do you manage repetitive questions? Please share your suggestions and ideas in our comments section.

Resources

Resources for Managing Dementia’s Difficult Behaviors

Tips to Manage Difficult Behavior

I think it’s been a tough time this week all the way around. And, when it’s tough, it can be hard to think happiness is achievable, much less appropriate. Today, it is.

Look around. What do you have in the house that releases you from the tough? Is it your untouched piano which you used to love to play? A long overdue phone call to a good friend who loves you dearly? A bag of golf clubs that could use your swing for 30 minutes or so at the driving range?

Sometimes, having happiness is as simple as grabbing your gold. Your gold is what gives you happiness.

How will you be happy today? Be sure to share below.

Program Note: Table Talk airs at Noon CT (1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT) today; Bette, one of our family caregivers who blogs, will tell us about her summer and how the start of school affects her caregiving days. You can listen live (and download the podcast for later listening) here.