Webinar Follow-Up: Which Step Will You Take?

Yesterday, during our Super Sunday Open House, I offered a free webinar, Three Steps to Feeling Better. (Miss the webinar? No worries! The archive is available and ready for you here.) I shared three steps which can take you from feeling bad to feeling better. So, I’d love to know: Which step will you take to feel better? Please share in our comments section, below. Related Articles Webinar Follow-Up: When...

Soft

Oh, this caregiving is so hard! It’s making your life hard, your day hard, your heart hard. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if caregiving seemed like the softest mattress possible, always giving such a comfortable landing. Or, that it tasted like the most wonderful soft-serve ice cream, so creamy and delicious you always want more. Or, felt like the softness of a baby’s skin, so beautiful that you...

Tell Us: How Do Keep Your Caree Occupied?

Yesterday, during Table Talk on Your Caregiving Journey, Kristin spoke about her inability to do what she enjoys. She has books to read, words to write, websites to visit… And, yet she can’t. The stress of worrying about Mary and whether Mary is safe becomes her day’s only action. It’s all she can do—think about making sure Mary is okay. The dread of what could happen (Mary wanders...

Letting Go Versus Giving Up

I just saw an interesting quote tweeted on Twitter (thanks to @thehrgoddess for sharing the quote): “There’s an important difference between giving up and letting go.” ~ Jessica Hatchigan I love this quote because it recognizes a subtle difference that can change an experience for us. For instance, perhaps you have a family member who just can’t seem to get it together to help you. If you...

Platitudes on Gratitudes

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...

Simply, Forgive

Yesterday morning, I presented a workshop, Healing the Life-Long Family Rifts, for a local assisted living facility. (The workshop is available as a webinar; you can listen to it here.) I began the workshop by asking attendees to share the rifts they’ve experienced in their families. Mary needed little prodding to share about her rift with her brother. She had cared for her mother for 10 years. And, her list...

Webinar Follow-Up: How Will You End the Blame Game?

Yesterday, I led our monthly free webinar, Ending the Blame Game. I shared tips on how to end the game of blaming others or yourself for a bad day, a bad time and, at times, a bad life. (Did you miss the webinar? No worries! It’s archived here.) I’d love to know: What insight did you gain about blame during the webinar? And, how will you end the blame game? Please share in our comments section, below. Related...

Update: What’s Scary About Caregiving?

Our live call-in talk show airs at 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT, 4:30 p.m. PT) tonight! We’re taking your answers to this question: What’s scary about caregiving? (Our show aired last night; you can listen to our show via the player below.) Call (646) 652-4944 to share during our live show. Or, join our show’s chat room to post your insight. If you’re on Twitter, you can tweet during the show using this...

The Fears That Bind

Last week, my niece, Sarah, joined me on Your Caregiving Journey to continue our conversation about managing culture shock. When you land into the life of caregiving, it’s a huge culture shock. Sarah shared the coping strategies she learned from living in a small town in Poland for two years. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post. In an experience where so much feels and sounds...

No Regrets (Fingers Crossed)

On Friday, four caregiving experts joined me for a discussion on Your Caregiving Journey on preventing regrets. Our experts included Leann Reynolds, president of Homewatch CareGivers; Suzanne Mintz, CEO of National Family Caregivers Association; Jesse Slome, Director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance; and Bette, who blogs about caring for her mom and her children. You can listen to our show...

What Advice Would You Give to a Burnt-Out Family Caregiver?

Our live call-in talk show airs at 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT, 4:30 p.m. PT) tonight! We’re taking your answers to this question: What advice would you give to a burnt-out caregiver? Call (646) 652-4944 to share during our live show. Or, join our show’s chat room to post your insight. If you’re on Twitter, you can tweet during the show using this hashtag: #caretalk. And, to thank you for calling in the...

Tell Us: What Was Your Caregiving Culture Shock?

Last week, my niece, Sarah, joined me on Your Caregiving Journey for a discussion on culture shock. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post. Sarah spent two years teaching English in a small school in a small town in Poland. After returning to the States this summer, Sarah gave a presentation to her church on her experience moving to a country in which she didn’t speak the...

What’s Your Best Bathing Tip?

Tammy, one of our Facebook fans, would love your advice. She writes: I simply cannot get my mom to take a bath, or shower, or even a sponge bath. Got any ideas? I think she feels unsteady on the bath bench. Maybe she doesn’t like water dripping down her body or on her face while I try wash her hair, even with waterless shampoo. What suggestions can you offer Tammy? What works for you? Please share in our...

*This* Is My Life

Kristin, who cares for her family friend, Mary, joined me this morning for Table Talk on Your Caregiving Journey. You can listen to our show via the player, below. Kristin updated us on her caregiving situation, including the new agreement she now has with Mary’s daughter. Kristin now sees her caregiving arrangement as a long-term commitment (versus just a two-year project) and now receives a monthly stipend...

Tell Us: What Part of You Got Lost?

In last week’s poll, What’s Caregiving’s Worst Side Effect?, your top answer was, “I feel like I lost myself.” I’d love for you to tell us more. For instance, do you feel like you look in the mirror and wonder what happened? Do you feel like you’ve lost your ability to enjoy what you used to? Or, do you look around and think: How did I get to where I don’t...

Hand

Oh, you need a hand in caregiving. Some days, you wish you had three hands. Other days, you just wish someone would pitch in with their hands. And, other days, you hope caregiving is not something you ever have to hand to another. And, then you have those really tough days, when the hands of time either move too slow or too fast. When hands are too few or too slow or too fast, give yourself a hand. Know you that...

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...

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?...

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...

Webinar Follow-Up: What’s Your Escape?

In yesterday’s free webinar, “Escape! Taking a Break Without Taking a Leave,” I shared the feelings you may have in your day and in your caregiving role that become too much. You need to escape from them. I offered suggestions on where you can escape to. (Did you miss the webinar? No worries! It’s archived here for you.) I’d love to know: What will you escape from? And to whom (or...

Forgiveness: Opening the Door You Kept Shut

This afternoon on Your Caregiving Journey, Bette joined me to share her story of forgiveness. You can listen to our show via the podcast at the bottom of the post. Bette’s forgiveness story involves her mom, who is also her caree. A difficult childhood relationship created a relationship in adulthood that Bette dodged. But, the dodging became more difficult when Bette’s mom moved in with Bette’s...

Your Best Day Ever: What’s Your Six-Word Story?

So many days in caregiving are just bad days. And, some of the bad days are days you couldn’t imagine would ever be this bad. Days when your hands bleed, your heart aches, and your eyes hurt. Because caregiving brings too many days like this, let’s take a break by remembering our best day ever. And, for fun, let’s describe our best day ever in just six words. (Thanks to SMITH magazine for...