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By Carol March 6th, 2012
I need to do my writing early in the day before my brain moves on to other things, so I like to blog in my jammies with a cup of hot tea close at hand. If I sit down with the computer first thing, the words flow onto the screen, and I am a happy blogger. If not, writing becomes an unpleasant struggle.
Back before Bill retired, I had no trouble finding those solitary morning hours for writing, meditation or just looking out the window. Now, it’s a bit different. Even though Bill holds down two part-time post retirement jobs, he is still home much more than he ever was when working for Denver Water. I have to make a point of scheduling the quiet morning time for writing and contemplation that used to …
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By Carol March 4th, 2012
A few posts from a couple of years ago still get a lot of looks. Here is one of my favorites:
Not long ago, after we got home from taking my very thin and frail father to one of his medical appointments, Bill postponed our customary debriefing session to take a quick trip to the Safeway for ice cream. Of course it was chocolate.
By the time he got home, I was wondering if we caregivers can get a rough idea of our own stress levels by noticing things like ice cream runs or the incidence of lost car keys. We tossed this idea around for awhile, and here is the result:
The Family Caregiver Desperation Scale ©
1. You have a feeling of optimism and a strong sense of resolve to make things …
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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 26th, 2012
I’m so glad the producers of To Not Fade Away asked me to review their film. Otherwise I would never have seen it, since it is not offered on my DTV plan. In Denver this wonderful RLTV video can only be seen on Comcast Channel 205.
Both my mother and my father suffered from dementia. While neither of them had Alzheimer’s disease, a fear of this particular form of dementia looms large for me as for many in my generation. The older I get the more unsettling small moments of forgetfulness become. I believe that having solid factual information about Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is vitally important for all of us at this stage of life. And it is equally important for children and loved ones of the elderly to know much …
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