“Mom, why do you have an entire shelf of plastic take-home containers?” “I might need them someday.” My mother’s answer is the same no matter what I ask. Plastic Cool Whip containers, empty sour cream tubs, tiny lidded bowls that once contained sauce. Old towels, empty coffee cans, and plastic bags of every size and…
I Can’t Hear You – Part 2
When an older adult loses their hearing, they face the same fears as anyone with a different kind of disability. They worry about being marginalized, or seen as incompetent, or even stupid. Sometimes they lash out at the ones who try to help. Since Mike is semi-retired, he spends more time with my mom on…
New Year, Same Old Caregiving
As we look to a brand new year, it brings to mind new beginnings. A fresh start. Maybe do things differently this year. Here are some resolutions I’ve made to make 2017 better than 2016 in my role as caregiver for my ninety-three-year-old mother: Give more grace. I need to remind myself that she’s 93,…
Finding a New Normal – Caregiving from Afar
This is a guest post from Ada Gerard, whose husband has FTD, a form of dementia. Her blog is gotoyourcornersandcomeoutloving.BlogSpot.com. Other than when he or I went on business trips, backpacking or visiting family, Gary and I were rarely apart for long periods of time. We always came home to each other. In 30 years,…
Changing Positions on the Team
A guest post from Ada Gerard, gotoyourcorners.blogspot.com/ Sitting in the living room at Gary’s Memory Care center, I overhear some hilarious conversations. The residents talk with each other, and neither of them know what the other is talking about. For example: One female resident picked up her purse to go to her room for the…
I Can’t Hear You
Have you ever ignored someone speaking to you? Perhaps she asked you to do something you didn’t want to do (this is especially pervasive in the teen years). Sometimes I pretend I can’t hear my husband when he asks me for the seventh time how to find a document on the computer. He admits to…
The Mind Thief
This is a guest post from Ada, whose husband has dementia. There are many feelings associated with losing a loved one to dementia. He is still here physically and mentally, there is a person there, but not necessarily my Gary. It is some other form of a man. He doesn’t think like him, nor act like…