Blog Archive

Last week, I introduced the topic of self-care in the post on stress overload. I believe maintaining self-care is vital to providing quality care for your loved one over a long period of time. Too often, self-care falls to the bottom of the list when it really should be at the top. So, what is... Read more

As a designer, I work with art on a daily basis. But until this afternoon I couldn’t tell you when the last time I actually put pen to paper and drew something was. I can remember spending hours as a child just drawing. Simply sitting down with a pad of paper and a pen and... Read more

Friday, we talked about signs you’ve taken on too much stress as a family caregiver. But what if it’s not the to-do list that’s causing that stress? What if it’s other people? Caregiving is challenging enough without having to deal with troublemakers. But those of us who aren’t naturally assertive are on a learning curve... Read more

It’s Friday. I glance over at my to-do list, and I’m disappointed by my accomplishments this week. I add three more tasks that slipped through the cracks and set a reminder on my phone. I want to add “grocery shopping” to my list, but finding the time seems impossible, so I leave it off. Life... Read more

Eyesight defines the world around us. It is eyesight that shows us the smile on a loved ones’ face. It is eyesight that translates the radiant colors of a sunset to our memories. It is eyesight that reads us stories from far away lands. But what if eyesight suddenly left? The faces, sunsets, stories all... Read more

Juggling work and caregiving is often difficult. But your workplace may also be a source of help, points out Alexis Abramson, Ph.D., author of The Caregivers Survival Handbook—even if you don’t realize it. In an article at TheHuffingtonPost.com about male caregivers and workplace discrimination, Abramson offers three tips “to promote a culture of caregiving in the... Read more

Getting dressed in the morning can become a challenge as we age. Dressing with arthritis, for example, means dealing with flexibility and dexterity challenges. When you see a loved one struggle with putting on a sweater, getting pants over her feet or buttoning a shirt, you naturally want to step in and help. But maintaining... Read more

Post-traumatic stress. We associate it with soldiers returning from war and victims of violent crimes or disasters. Caregivers? Not so much. But actually, caregiving can be traumatic, can’t it? You may be watching a loved one deteriorate, all the while taking on tasks you were never trained to do and perhaps don’t even have the... Read more

I just returned home from a trip to London where I was overwhelmed by the beauty and history of the city. Perhaps one of my favorite moments, though it is hard to pick, was visiting The National Gallery. I took an audio tour of the most popular collections with my limited time and limited art... Read more

“Bears usually don’t mind the horses.” The guide’s words ran through my mind like a broken record, “Usually. How often is usually?” A lush, green canopy cast a misty hue over the forest as I took a cool breath of mountain air. Beneath me, Pickett, my trusty bronze trail horse, plodded along a narrow Cherokee... Read more