I’ve never been a risk taker. I don’t understand people who are. Why would you willingly do something that isn’t safe, that could end in failure, that could hurt? I hear people talk about the thrill of the experience, but for us non-risk-takers, there is no thrill. There is fear, worry and stress but no […]

G is for guilt. Carepartners do guilt well. Here are some examples: guilt for the times you received a call in the middle of the night and you didn’t run over. (Instead you lay awake worrying…) guilt for the times before diagnosis when you were impatient and abrupt because you didn’t understand what was happening.

F is for family. Family is interesting. They can be your greatest blessing or–not. Most of the time, families are amazing. They go out of their way to love their family member in ways that count. I have seen them sleep over on a mattress when their loved one was going through a tough time,

E is for entertainment–fun. The life of a carepartner is full. Medications, doctor’s visits, care, new challenges and new problems to solve fill the days. I know there are times it can get exhausting. The last thing on your mind is fun. Which is precisely why it’s important. It’s usually last. It often doesn’t “work.”

Have you ever given someone a “just because” gift? You’re in the mall or the grocery store, or any number of places doing your normal errands, when you see something that has someone’s name written all over it. Not literally, but it just seem to shout “buy me” for that person. It’s unique or funny

D is for Death. Death is inevitable. There are few experiences in our lives which we absolutely know we will experience. Death is one of these. The problem is, we don’t know when and no matter what our age or physical frailty, we always think we have more time to think about this. I’ve often

C is for communication. Communication is complicated. Communication with the person with dementia. Communication with other professionals involved in care: nurses, doctors and other specialists and professional care partners. Communication with family.Each of these requires a special set of skills, and probably, their own blog. For today, we’re going to look at communication with the

B is for Boundaries and boundaries are hard. Jody receives multiple phone calls in the night from her mother, who is living in a retirement home. Mom has an anxiety disorder and although Jody knows she is getting excellent care that extends to her emotional needs as well as the physical, the calls continue. Mom

“Who would pay extra just for something to wipe your bum?” We were walking the aisled of the grocery story for a weekly shopping trip. When we were first married almost three years ago, I was charmed when my new husband would come shopping with me. How sweet. He even carried in the groceries and

A is for Anxiety. If we are being real here (and we are) there is a lot of anxiety involved in having someone in your family with dementia.  Anxiety about the future, long term and immediate. Am I handling this right? Will I make the right decision at the right time? There are certain decisions