Caregiving is a solitary path. Watching Dad take care of Mom and even helping him, I can see the toll it takes. She is dependent upon him. We went to a concert together and I saw her needing him. I was right there, but I am not Dad. She seemed to forget how to get … Continue reading A Solitary Path
Health
Walking Them Home
I never rode a bus to school when I was a girl. I walked. It wasn’t 10 miles in the snow, uphill, both ways. No, nothing like that. It was a simple, mostly flat, couple of miles. Mom walked us to the corner every day. Then, most of the kids in our neighborhood, walked on … Continue reading Walking Them Home
Companion Tears
There are several different types of tears. I am a crier, so I should know. There are event tears that spring up at the moment an event happens. It could be a tragic event, like a death in the family, or it could be a happy event, like a new baby being born. These type … Continue reading Companion Tears
Dear Friends and Family
I have been doing dementia research this week; not really, but it seems that way. There have been two excellent dementia awareness events near me that I attended with my family. If you know my dad at all, you know he is a bulldog. It is why he was such a successful business man. He … Continue reading Dear Friends and Family
Hard Things
It has been a week of hard things. The thing we had been dreading came to pass. Moving Ray into memory care was physically exhausting as expected, but I don’t think it was because of the move itself. That part only took the movers two hours because there is very little stuff left. Each move … Continue reading Hard Things
Meltdown
I had a meltdown this week. Allow me to give you some backstory. Five or so years ago, we began caring for Bill’s dad, Ray. In that time, we have moved him 4 times, handled some very complicated legal matters, managed all his doctor and dental appointments (and the dog’s vet appointments), gotten his estate … Continue reading Meltdown
Mom
I don’t know where to start with my Mother’s Day post this year. Sometimes I think about young moms, and all the beautiful exhaustion that goes with that role. Other times I think about those who are not moms, for a myriad of reasons, and I bless them for sitting through all the Mother’s Day … Continue reading Mom
11
It is somehow appropriate that tonight is a full moon, here at the beginning of a new year, and on this day specifically; January 2nd. Eleven years…cancer free. At this time all those years ago, I was finishing up my final 8-hour treatment and heading home for a celebration dinner Louise had prepared. It was … Continue reading 11
A Frightening Moment
A beautiful fall day calls for…housework, right? Maybe. Just a little. Then a drive through the brilliant glowing mountains, as a reward. Bill was changing lightbulbs on the outside of the house in preparation for the darker evenings. I was inside working to ready the guestroom for any visitors coming our way. Bill was on … Continue reading A Frightening Moment
Guest Blog
Today I have an important guest blogger, my husband Bill. He has a story to tell that is important. In fact, it is one of the things that has been swept under the rug at our house for years, as we have been in survival mode. It is where so much of our lives together … Continue reading Guest Blog
