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By Carol February 19th, 2012
I’ve been poking around the blog this week pulling out a few posts to use as a basis for a submission to a local writing contest. In the process I came across a post that I wrote about a year after Dad’s death. I like it so much that I think it’s worth re-posting. So here it is
Exploring the Gifts of Caregiving
Caregiving can be hard. Really, really hard. As Bill has said, it can feel a lot like rolling a boulder up a steep hill only to have it plunge back down to the bottom over and over again. I have also heard caregivers describe the job as an endless roller coaster ride or a long slog through a muddy marsh in the rain.
Part of what makes caregiving so challenging is …
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By Bill February 9th, 2012
Who is the Caregiver?
I seem to be doing a series on retirement in a blog ostensibly devoted to caregiving of aging parents. However, the aging parents are dead and Judi, Carol, and I are now the aging parents. This has always been the pattern, and as our population becomes proportionately older, there will be more caregivers who become the aging parents. Caregivers of aging parents also tend to be around retirement age. Does this describe you?
Today I got home from work (yes, I am retired) and immediately stepped into my caregiver role. Carol had hand surgery, got a cast, and now the cast is off, therapy has begun, and her right hand hurts and has about 20% of the strength of her left “weak” hand. I had bottles to open, a …
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By Carol January 24th, 2012
For every caregiver, the day will arrive when caregiving comes to an end. Most of us can’t know when that day will come. Because of this, caregiving often seems endless, but it is not.
Some of us are able to accept that the end is coming sooner or later. The couple in this video are planning for the time when he will be gone, and she will be alone. Senior co-housing is one option for companionship and support for the spouse that is left behind.
Weighing the Options from Our Future Selves on Vimeo.
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Technorati Tags: afraid, aging in place, Brave Old World, caregiver mental health, caregiver needs, caregiver stress, co-housing, coping with death, Elder Spirit, end of life, end of life decisions, family caregiver, pain of caregiving, Paula Span. Columbia University School of Journalism
By Carol January 22nd, 2012
Years ago I could only use a yellow legal pad for my writing. If I didn’t have my yellow pad, I couldn’t write. Then a determined Bill coaxed me to try word processing. Now I love the ease of editing, the spellchecker and the way words flow from my fingers onto the page. I especially like Microsoft Word, a program that I always thought was too complicated for me until we started blogging.
Today, with my right hand encased in a stunning purple cast, I can’t use my cherished Microsoft Word. The best I can do is to hunt and peck enough to edit this.
And what is this?
I am “writing” this post via an iPad app called Dragon Dictation. Since I had joint replacement surgery on my hand almost two weeks ago, …
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By Judi January 8th, 2012
I first heard this poem read by the author on NPR radio back in June of 2011. The words that the poet speaks are raw and true. Listening to it brings tears to my eyes. (Rated R for some strong language.)
The poet is Kane Smego who is a frequent participant in Poetry Slams and he is the Artistic Director of Sacrificial Poets, a Chapel Hill, NC group who’s mission is “To inspire, foster, and promote artistic expression, personal growth, and social justice for youth in our collective communities through the use of the spoken and written word.”
Below is the written transcript of the poem from the video.
Retired Royalty By: Kane Smego
There is a proverb from the Ashanti of Ghana that says: “The words from the mouth of an old …
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