Thinking of You

It is always nice to receive a greeting card when you are not feeling well. A cartoon face, a picture of flowers or a clever poem can go a long way to make a patient feel thought of. But what about the caregiver? Does the caregiver ever get a "Thanks for all Your Care" card?

When I was helping with Sally, my sister-in-law, my mother would send me a thoughtful card each week. Sometimes it just said "Hang in there" other times there would be a comforting Scripture. The cards came once a week for almost 2 years. I was surprised that there were hardly any duplicates.

I always appreciated the thoughtfulness. I have kept all of them in a special box by my bed as a reminder that a caregiver is ANYONE that cares for someone else.

Please tell us how a caregiver has affected your life.

Travel Plans with the Sick and Elderly

The whole point of taking a vacation, getting away for a bit, is to relax and have a change of pace. Some caregivers find that hard to do when they vacation with someone they are also taking care of physically. Now instead of getting away from it all they are bringing it and then some with them. Instead of being relaxed now the caregiver is even more tense. But does it have to be like that?

I recently spoke with a good friend of mine who does some traveling with her elderly aunt and she said it was all in the mind set. The attitude of the caregiver goes a long way in making an event relaxing or tension filled. How so? By not expecting to DO EVERYTHING but taking a slower more purposeful pace, enjoying the surroundings, soaking in the ambiance instead of rushing from one location to another.

Changing the routine can have marvelous benefits. You might find that time goes by slowly, the art of conversation is revived or simply sitting and people watching while sipping a creamy mug of cocoa can do wonders for both caregiver and patient.

Chaos is the New "Normal"

Have you ever said "I can't wait until my life gets back to normal?" I know I have and it seems that normal is only in my imagination. When you are a caregiver it seems you have to get used to change especially when the one you are caring for has a chronic condition.

I struggle with Plan A then Plan B and on and on until Plan Z but still I get sidelined with the unexpected. I've found that keeping a calendar and remembering to jot down notes and appointments help but sometimes my pages are marked beyond use due to all the last minute changes.

What have you done to cope with the changes in routine? I would love to hear creative ways of coping.

Caregiving and More

Since the launch of the website in late August there has been an explosion of activity, so much so that I haven't been able to post for 3 weeks! I'll try not to let that happen again. Briefly, there are things in the works, more products, more info, more stuff will be showing up here all related to various aspects of caregiving.

I will need your help. If you can spread the word to your friends and family about the site and subscribe for feeds so you can be alerted when there are updates, that would be appreciated.

Also, feel free to comment or ask questions on any part of the blog. That's what it's here for - to be a community of care.