This afternoon on Your Caregiving Journey, G-J led our monthly Caregiving Book Club discussion. Our September pick is my book, The Caregiving Years, Six Stages to a Meaningful Journey. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.
We spoke about the inspiration for the book, what we both like about it and what’s useful about it. I also read a short excerpt. I hope you enjoy.
Thanks so...
You were packed and ready. You were at the front door. You were ready to go.
Until caregiving came in through the back door.
So, you put down your bag. You took of your coat. You stayed.
It’s okay that you have moments in your heart when you still want to Go.
As you stay, make a compromise with Go. Bring in what you were were going to: A trip, a career, a goal. Maybe the form of the trip, career or goal...
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...
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...
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...
This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Ellen Rogin, our wealthness expert and author of “Great with Money: The Women’s Guide to Prosperity,” joined me to answer this question: What makes an individual great with money? (You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.)
We began our conversation with a definition of “great with money.” It’s not about how much...
Posted by
Denise on Sep 1st, 2011 in
Denise's Blog,
Webinars |
1 comment
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...
This morning, I mentioned to Jane that I have a meditation that may be helpful. The meditation, which takes you to your personal paradise, helps you relax and regain your footing.
I thought you might all enjoy the meditation; you’ll find the recording, below. The meditation is the third recording. You can listen here or download to your mp3 player to listen at your convenience.
I also recorded two more Weekly...
Wow, did I get behind!! I meant to post a recap of Saturday’s talk show on Sunday. Well, just for a few moments we’ll consider today to be Sunday.
So, yesterday (wink), Holly, who cares for her husband, joined me for our monthly chat as part of Table Talk on Your Caregiving Journey. Last month, Holly and I talked about taking a break and really taking a break, without packing along worry. As we ended...
Posted by
Denise on Aug 3rd, 2011 in
Denise's Blog |
10 comments
Fifteen years ago today, I sat in the corner of my bedroom in my parents’ house and bought the domain name, Caregiving.com. (You can read more about the story of Caregiving.com here .)
In honor of Caregiving.com’s 15th anniversary, I’m sending you 15 wishes:
1. I wish you love in your heart for your life, even when it seems this life can’t possibly be yours.
2. I wish you forgiveness in...
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, I choose a random winner to receive an autographed copy of my book, “Good Morning! Sunny Reflections to Start Your...
This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Ann Stookey joined me to continue our conversation about the depression you may feel during your caregiving experience. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.
When you experience depression, you may think you can hide how you feel. When you share so much space and time with someone, like your caree, your depression will be hard to hide. So, how...
Posted by
Denise on Jul 25th, 2011 in
Denise's Blog,
Polls |
4 comments
In the summer, we all think of vacation, a break, a day off. I wonder, though: How often can you take a day off? Please vote in our poll, below, and share any additional thoughts in our comments section.
Take Our Poll
Resources
We’re taking submissions for our Caregiving Art Show and our Help book! Be sure to share your art and your story with the world.
Our 2011 Family Caregiver Survey report offers a snapshot...
This afternoon on Your Caregiving Journey, Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, our happiness expert, joined me to discuss how our emotional pain (like stress) can manifest into our physical pain (like migraines). You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.
Elizabeth shared ideas on help to manage the stress so that you can heal your physical pain. She spoke of a client who developed a headache at 5...
This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Ellen Rogin, our wealthness expert, joined me for a discussion on how we leave a footprint of our money beliefs. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.
We began our discussion with Ellen describing a meditation she’s done while walking (heads-up Happiness Project participants, another idea for walking!!). Her meditation led her to a...
I’ve so enjoyed speaking with Kristin, who cares for her family friend, Mary on Your Caregiving Journey. You can listen to our most recent conversation via the player at the bottom of this post.
Over three shows, we’ve talked about how Kristin has gained compassion in caring for Mary, a person who is incapable of feeling compassion. Kristin describes compassion as an action and a feeling and believes...
Some days, you might wish you could reach for the paste, so you could glue together the pieces of your life. Caregiving can seem to act like a scissors, cutting your life into bits and pieces.
Rather than trying to paste together what was, put together a new picture of what is. If you focus so much on what was, believing there’s nothing for you in the what is, then you miss the true of glue of your life...
On Saturday, Jennifer, who cares for her husband, Paul, joined me for Table Talk. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.
During our conversation, Jennifer spoke about the feeling of camaraderie she feels from reading and sharing with fellow family caregivers. Her comments, as well as a recent post from Kristin, gave me a deeper insight about the power of sharing about a difficult life...
A new website needs family caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease or other dementia to participate a research study funded by the National Institute on Aging (part of the National Institutes of Health).
The site, iCarefamily.com, is being developed by Photozig (at the NASA Research Park) and Stanford University, in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association and other organizations.
The goal...
Oooooooh, you may think. How am I going to face this?
It may be another diagnosis, yet another new home health aide, a different treatment regime, a visit from family, a decision about end-of-life care.
Or, it could simply be another day.
When it seems that what you face is too big for you, call in the support. Tell a trusted friend that you feel like it’s getting to be too much. Take a walk. Share your worry...
In caregiving, time can seem to pass too slowly. Until you think about time as it relates to your life. And, then you may worry: “I’ve lost my life in caregiving; I’ll be too old to achieve what I want.”
In this Life Line, I offer a perspective on “too old.”
Updates
Our Caregiving Summer School, Session II, starts next week! Our classes will help you understand where...
This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Holly, who blogs about caring for her husband, Dave, joined me for Table Talk. Holly recently took a weekend trip with girlfriends so I suggested we talk about the trip and how she leaves without taking guilt. You can listen to our show via the player, below.
To help manage her time away, Holly breaks out the trip into three parts: The planning, the trip and the return. For...
