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...

Another Story to Tell . . .

Something tonight other than Robert-centric caregiving.  My wonderful mother-in-law has been in the hospital since Friday where they are trying to figure out why she has fluid (bloody, at that) in her lungs.  They are telling us it is either a malignancy or an infection but it seems the doctors are leaning toward cancer. I’ve been down this road before so I hope not. My own mom died 2 ½ months after a cancer...

What Color is Your Plate?

An interesting article that I came across. What Color is Your Plate by Max Wallack http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2010/08/what-color-is-your-plate.html some highlights: “Forty percent of Alzheimer’s patients don’t eat enough…” “…vision plays a role in Alzhemer’s patients reluctance to eat. This phenomena is explained by Boston University bio-psychologist Alice...

Tell Us: What’s It Like for You With Family?

Caringlizi, one of our members, wrote yesterday: Dealing with my husband’s progressing brain tumor is bad enough, but I just don’t know what to do with his family.  I feel so invisible at times, bullied at others.  Not sure if I want to hide in the closet or yell. Can anybody relate? Sometimes, managing the family (yours, your caree’s) can seem like managing a regiment of complicated...

Presidential Citizens Medal

For the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal, the White House is asking citizens to nominate the men and women around us who have left an impact within their communities, and in turn inspired others. http://www.whitehouse.gov/citizensmedal I don’t know if she is eligible because of some nuances of the qualifications but one of the first people I thought of:  our very own Denise Brown Consider the medal criteria:...

Receiving in Order to Receive

This afternoon, Amanda Owen, author of The Power of Receiving, our May Caregiving Book Club pick, joined me for a discussion on Your Caregiving Journey. Amanda’s book offers tools to help us become as skilled in receiving as we are in giving. You can listen to our show via the player, below. I loved this book, as you’ll hear during our discussion. Amanda provides really helpful exercises that help you...

The Talk

Robert and I had “The Talk.” I was Mean Mommy for a few minutes and it so happened that our talk was the same day he saw the dentist. Might as well get all the icky stuff done in one day! I’ll admit it. Robert hasn’t seen a dentist in several years. (I’ll wait a minute for the outcry to die down. . .). Sorry, okay? I didn’t take Robert to the dentist.  It was on my list of things to do but it never got...

Our New Support Groups

As you know, Caregiving.com made a move last week. And, during the move, I lost our online support groups. (Read “What I Lost in the Move“.) After a few issues and glitches, I’m happy to say we have online support groups again! The groups are part of the site, which differs from how we used our previous groups. With the other groups, we emailed each other. Now, you can visit the site to read our...

Giving Happy

This morning, on Your Caregiving Journey, Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo joined me to help this question: Why do we have to work at happiness? Why isn’t it a given? You can listen to our show via the player below. (We had technical problems which abruptly ended the show. I didn’t get a chance to thank you for listening. So, thank you for listening.) Our happiness is a combination of genetics (60%) and our...

Evaluating the Caregiving State of Affairs

(Editor’s Note: Today’s guest post comes from SeniorsforLiving.com’s Michelle Seitzer. Before committing to life as a full-time freelance writer, Michelle spent 10 years in the senior living and advocacy world, serving in various roles at assisted living communities throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland, and leading the charge for Alzheimer’s as a public policy coordinator for the Pennsylvania chapters...

Things Mama Never Told Me

I have a very dear friend with whom I have stayed in contact for many years. Through the years we would commiserate with each other whenever we faced a new difficulty. We would always say to each other, “Mama never told me about this!” It was our way of saying that life is not fair and we never expected whatever current problem we were facing. It helped us to laugh at ourselves and get on with dealing...

Holiday Progressive Blog Party Starts December 5!

Image by Julep67 via Flickr It’s a cook-free (and dirty dish-less!) Progressive Party. Throughout the week of December 5, 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. Because no party is complete without presents, we’ve got prizes! We’re...

Progressive Blog Party Guidelines

Are you a family caregiver with a blog? Between December 5 and 11, be a host in our Holiday Progressive Blog Party! It’s a cook-free party; instead of dishes, we’re sharing comfort and support. Throughout the week of December 5, we’ll stop by the blogs of family caregivers, dropping off holiday well-wishes and good cheer. On Caregiving.com, we’ll giving away a gift a day. To win, just post a...

We Are Not Alone

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one’.” -C.S. Lewis

A Tip for a Tough Day: Appoint a Love Substitute

We finished our October class, Making Well for Wellness, on Tuesday. It’s a terrific four-part class that you can take as a self-study course (you go at your own pace and at your convenience; you also keep the materials forever so they become a go-to resource). You can register for the class here. Our class delved deeper into the traits of well-being we discussed in last month’s free webinar, Turning...

Be a Leader in Your Caregiving Role

Last May, Ellen Rogin, our wealthness expert, shared tips to help us be a leader with our money. I love this idea of taking the lead in aspects of life. Why not look at ways you can be a leader in your caregiving role? Here goes: L: Let go. Let go of what went wrong yesterday. Let go of what you can’t control. Let go of the “shoulds” (what you should do, say; what others should do, say). Hold onto...

Knowing, So You Know What To Do

Caring.com released interesting stats today from research it recently completed with 1,100 family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease. The most interesting to me: About half of the surveyed family caregivers don’t know or aren’t sure which stage of Alzheimer’s disease their caree is in. Oh, my! Knowing is a good part of the battle. Knowing makes it easier to find acceptance, solutions...

What’s Your Declaration?

This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Craig Jennings said he made a declaration soon after his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis and after one tough first month of caregiving. His declaration? “I’m going to be the best caregiver possible.” His declaration changed how he felt about caregiving (he wasn’t feeling great about it) and, in turn, changed how he related to his wife. And, that...

Tells Us: What’s Your Biggest Complaint?

To help you focus your last thoughts of the day on good, let’s take time during the day to vent about the bad. Let it out now so you don’t take the day’s frustrations to bed with you. (See my post, below, about using your last few moments of the day as a way to make a better tomorrow.) So, tell us: What’s your biggest complaint? Complain away in our comments section, below. Program Note: We...

Give a Caregiving Conundrum to our Council of Caregivers

It’s hard to feel good about so many decisions you face in your caregiving role. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a sounding board? A group of current and former family caregivers (as well as a few health care professionals) who can offer help as you face a decision? Our Council of Caregivers does that just that. Our Council can help you tackle decisions and worries relating to: Alzheimer’s Family...

Is Caregiving a Secret in Our Communities?

I received a very nice email over the weekend from a colleague who forwards information about our site’s activities to her colleagues, which includes ministers at her local churches. She forwards the information so they have resources to share with their church members in a caregiving role. In response to her messages, they write back, telling her “thanks, but no thanks.” They tell her they...

Holding Happiness

It’s Saturday! And, it’s the last Saturday in August. So, how will you make today special with a special moment of happiness? Please share in our comments section, below. And, you can listen to Table Talk, which aired this morning, via the player at the bottom of the post. Today, I answered three questions for you: If my caree isn’t happy, have I failed? Do I fit? And, how much do I...