Supporting all who care for elders
We’re working on a project. It’s a secret at the moment, but I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun. It involves a bucketload of creativity, the gifts of both my husband and myself, and some reaching outside several boxes to figure things out. Ideas for it wake me at night and encroach on […]
Finding Ways to Create with Joy with Your Elder Read More »
Do you remember the bundle buggy? A cart sitting on four wheels with a handle at the top. Used for shopping trips, usually pulled by an older person. The bundle buggy received a facelift several years ago. It’s now called a “trolley dolly” or a foldable shopping cart, or perhaps a “rolling bag cart.” No
Anxious To Powerful With Assistive Devices Read More »
Margaret liked her stuff. She wasn’t the least bit materialistic, but her sentimentality made it impossible to part with anything which had the slightest story attached to it. In her house, whole rooms were devoted to boxes of old pictures, which she planned to sort through someday, her mother’s teacups, her deceased sister’s treasures and
Empower Your Later Years with Awesome Decisions Now Read More »
Independence. Toddlers throw tantrums for it, teenagers get drunk asserting it, we all crave it. We want to do what we want to do when we want to do it. We’ll stay within the law (mostly) and societal boundaries (for the most part) but we crave the ability to make our own choices and decisions.
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly of Independence Read More »
Just because “receiving gifts” is last on my list of love languages doesn’t mean I don’t like them! More than any other love language, this illustrates how they mesh together and depend on each other. If your main gift is quality time, a gift has more meaning when
The Love Language of Receiving Gifts Make a Gift More Than a Gift Read More »
“I don’t feel normal. I don’t feel like me.” As we talked, I asked her what she felt “normal” was. She told me about a time when she could do everything for herself, and used to run church groups. I asked my friend how long ago that had been, and we agreed it was about
Care Partner Wednesday–What is Normal? Read More »
Have you ever run into an old friend you haven’t seen for a long time? After the obligatory, “Hi, how are you?” the answer is inevitably, “Busy.” We wear “busy” like a badge of honour. Our time is full, and somehow that makes us better, more important people. For care partners, balancing life is especially
Care Partner Wednesday–It’s All About Time Read More »
Beth stood in the aisle at the drug store, looking at rows and rows of adult diapers. What kind to get? “Who knew there were so many varieties?” she said to no one in particular. Immediately, she was transported back 30 years, listening to her husband describe the identical experience. He had just returned from
Care Partner Wednesday–Walking the Tightrope of Changing Roles Read More »
Dr. Bill Thomas, founder of The Eden Alternative, poses an interesting question. What if almost everything we believe about aging is wrong? You’ve seen it before. A magazine article about a man who still runs marathons in his 90s. A woman who graduates from university in her 80s. Someone who is still working as a
Care Partner Wednesday–What If We Got Aging All Wrong? Read More »
Without purpose, life is flat. It’s a series of obligations, where we trudge through each cold, grey day. Nothing matters. Purpose brings colour and sparkle. It makes what we do in a day matter. Purpose is a job we love, relationships that matter, and making a difference. For someone with dementia, or who is elderly
Care Partner Wednesday–A Sense of Purpose Read More »