“No One Has Caregiving on Their Bucket List” Chris MacLellan, Founder, Whole Care Network Isn’t that the truth? We don’t plan for it. We don’t anticipate the phone call that changes our life. And we sure don’t have it on our bucket list. Yet, it’s one of those statements which binds caregivers together in a beautiful and strangely poignant way. When I introduce this … [Read more...]
You Did the Best You Could with the Knowledge You Had in That Moment.
“It’s easier to look back at an event and see a better choice or pathway because we already learned from our experience. Hindsight happens after the lessons, so we can’t condemn ourselves for not knowing the lesson before we learned it.” Emily Maroutian. Caregiving is a series of lessons, some of which come at us fast and furiously, like when we are suddenly responsible for … [Read more...]
Monarch butterflies will not attempt to fly in the rain. It’s okay to rest during the storms in your life.
“Monarch butterflies will not attempt to fly in the rain because the raindrops will damage their wings. They will rest and wait it out. It’s self-preservation. It’s okay to rest during the storms in your life. Take all the time you need. You will fly again once the storm passes.” Sharyn March, Poet, Leave Her Wild. What an amazing … [Read more...]
“If at some point you don’t ask yourself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ then you’re not doing it right.” Roland Gau
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...]
“Perfection and dementia cannot co-exist. Dementia offers do overs.” Tracy Cram Perkins, Author
This quote from Tracy Cram Perkins* is one of my favorites from my book, A Relationship Contract for Dementia Caregivers for several reasons. Certainly, one of them is that the person with a memory impairment who has short-term memory loss won’t remember when you told them no. But if “no” is said when our behavior shows our anger and frustration, that is a problem. As I write … [Read more...]