THIS is the question caregivers ask themselves all the time. Nothing, and I mean nothing, prepares you for being a caregiver to aging parents or a spouse. You would think parenthood would prepare you. After all, children challenge you with their independence needs, but they don’t have years of living an independent life. Your elder or spouse has a history as a functioning … [Read more...]
Caregivers, feeling battered by your emotions? Here are some suggestions for what you can do.
Right now, I am spent mentally and emotionally. Certainly, the last seven years of caregiving, two of them amid a pandemic, is to blame. But moving mom into Assisted Living and getting ready to sell our family home has highlighted those feelings in a way I did not expect. Like many caregivers, my default mode is to soldier on. “I don’t have time to break down today, there is … [Read more...]
“Stop the merry-go-round, I want to get off” said every caregiver, everywhere.
I’ve felt this way for a while now. If I could just hop off this caregiving ride long enough to catch my breath, life would be easier, better and more manageable. I’m still on the merry-go-round, but I’ve moved from the carousel horse that goes up and down to one that is stationary and finding my balance is harder than I imagined. I knew moving mom into Assisted Living would … [Read more...]
Caregivers, It Is OK To Ask For Help For Yourself.
I learned early in this caregiving journey to ask for and say yes to help. It has sustained me through the last seven years. What I have recently learned is that sometimes I need help and it has nothing to do with mom. Over the last two plus months, I moved in with mom while we made the transition to assisted living. I left my house on December 30th and did not sleep in my … [Read more...]
The Power of Kindness, An Important Reminder.
The last several months have been stressful on mom and I. What it takes spiritually and emotionally to move from your family home of 64 years is way more stressful than the million and one tasks and coordination nightmares you face. We would not have gotten through it whole without the kindness of others. It's the moving company that at the last minute took pity on me and … [Read more...]