Because yesterday was Mother’s Day and many of you may have visited your Mom in her home or picked her up to take her somewhere, I wanted to chat about the tell-tale signs of an aging parent or relative needing help. When my father came to live with me almost 4 years ago, I [...]
Well, I just returned from court where I needed to appear in order to end the conservatorship that I had obtained for my father. I was both a guardian and conservator for him and whereas a guardianship automatically ends at death, a conservatorship does not. There are papers that must be filed with the court; a financial [...]
Finding a good doctor for an elderly loved one can be a challenge. Many rural areas and smaller towns do not have gerontologists available. This means that a family will need to look at the non-specialists available in their area to provide medical care for their loved one. Look for a family practitioner or general [...]
This past couple of years, I’ve noticed many new assisted living facilities being built in the area in which I live. These are gorgeous properties with beautiful amenities throughout that have been placed there by designers hired to make them look like “home”. It wasn’t until I began looking at them as a means of [...]
Elder care mediation is a relatively new profession and one that will be increasingly needed as more boomers care for their aging parents and also as they become elders themsleves. In a study reported by Deborah B. Gentry, it was determined that nearly 40% of adult children acting as caregivers had serious conflicts with one or [...]
Today I posted a quote on my Facebook Fan page by Anna Quindlen that said “When you want to say no, say no. You can’t do everything – at least not well.” Ironically, later in the day, I was reading a story about MSNBC anchorwoman, Mika Brzezinski and her forthcoming book “All Things at Once” [...]
If you’ve been following me for awhile, you KNOW that the majority of these goals are about taking care of yourself. Yes, I know I’m being repetitative, but you can’t take care of anyone else effectively unless you take care of yourself first. Remember……YOUR oxygen mask goes on first ! 1. Learn to take [...]
When I woke up this morning, I was crying. I had been dreaming about my father (who passed away at the end of September). I recall that in my dream, he was not alive and was propped in a chair. I was crying, saying “I’m SO sorry; I didn’t know.” Ironically, I know exactly what I didn’t know [...]
This past Saturday I attended a Ceremony of Remembrance that was presented by the church I attend. It is an annual ceremony but I had never attended it before, not having reason to do so. I must tell you that it was a wonderful experience and a wonderful gift that the church offers to its [...]
A friend of mine received the following letter from an 80 year old friend of hers. Because of its message, we thought it was important to share. “Dear Kendra, We are very sad about our granddaughter and her husband. Her name is Jessica. She was our lst grandchild and we spoiled her the most. Since [...]
