My grandmother was not the first elderly person to benefit from having a pet, nor was she the last. Pet companionship is fantastic because you can talk to a dog or cat all day, and they don’t care if a story is repeated, or even if you’re talking to them. While it’s true that most pet dogs recognize about the same number of words as the average human two-year-old, what they really respond to is the sound of the human voice.
Elder-life With Dogs Read More »
We talk so much about caring for our beloved elders, our extremely young family members, and our loved ones who have special needs, that sometimes we forget about one of the most common variations of family caregiver: those who are caring for our partners. I like to think of this kind of care as a different dialect within the language of love.
Intimacy and Caregiving: A Different Dialect Within the Language of Love Read More »
It begins with the stripping away of all the holiday trappings, usually on the first day of the year, but sometimes the following weekend. Red and green are packed away to be replaced with calming pastels – tranquil blues and creams – punctuated with bursts of color (turquoise, lime green, orange) that are like visual bubbles of delight. They lack the audacity of Valentine reds, purple, and pink, and aren’t quite as vivid as the colors of spring and summer, but they feel light and positive when compared to the muted light and bare trees outside.
Beating the Deep-Winter Blues Read More »
Hanukkah. Solstice. Yule. Christmas. All these powerful celebrations coincide this week, and while all have different themes and belong to different faiths, they all share one commonality: they celebrate the return of light and hope into a dark world. For caregivers, the holidays can be extremely stressful as we try to balance the needs of others with the needs of ourselves. It can be especially difficult when the people in our care are no longer able to enjoy the holidays they once loved.
Holiday Self-Care for Caregivers Read More »
I sit here, waiting on news about my boyfriend’s father in the emergency room at Starbucks – hot cocoa in hand. Living through a scenario that began last night, I’ve been through many times before with my parents. A coughing spell led to chest congestion that he swears he didn’t have. When he came close to falling last night, it became clear that at the age of ninety-one, a trip to the doctor would be in order.
Human Experiences Under Fire Read More »
