Make Your 2020 Caregiving Year a Happy One!
A new year can be a time to reflect. How did the previous year work for me, my family, my community, the world? What could I change to bring more light into the coming year?
How to Bring Joy into Your Caregiving This Holiday Season
Our holiday tradition always included making gingerbread houses.
My husband, Don, and I would invite over a couple of our grandchildren, and we would build houses and gobble sweets. Really, the grandkids and I would sneak bites, while Don would tease us about it.
Family & Caregiving: A Thankful Combination
Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate family connections.
However, for caregivers, family relationships can be complicated.
Sometimes, resentment may arise when one or two family members take on most of the caregiving duties.
Tackling Fear in Caregiving
Caregiving can be scary—not in the way a Halloween horror flick provokes fear—but instead the way real life does.
Caregiving often involves loss and perhaps some unexpected changes. For me, it was my husband’s stroke that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Starting with that moment, fear became something that we both had to address.
The Power of Caregiving Friends
When I was my husband’s caregiver, I wish I could have more easily connected with others experiencing similar issues. Now, many resources to find support groups exist, and the benefits to the members are immense. Here is a story of one such group; some names have been changed for privacy reasons.
Are you a caregiver sandwich?
As the summer comes to a close and the school year revs up, one category of caregivers faces unique challenges: Caregivers with Children. Are you a caregiver sandwich? Caring for both an ailing parent and your children puts you smack in the middle!
Vacationing for Caregivers
Vacations and caregiving may not seem like natural partners, but they can be.
Almost everyone needs an occasional break from their every day lives, and for caregivers and their loved ones, these breaks can be of vital importance to both mental and emotional health.
The Gift of Reading
Even while stuck waiting in the hospital or sitting isolated at home, a book provides a simple way to transport you to another place and provide nurturance for your soul. Reading to your loved ones also may be just the salve they need. In the busy world of cell phone apps and ever-present electronic media, sometimes books can be forgotten, but they can be sustaining in so many ways. They can nurture your health, help alleviate depression, reduce stress, improve memory, and enhance empathy, according to research. And they’re a fun escape into another world or perhaps a new way of thinking.
It’s a vacation…until it isn’t!
The last thing anyone wants to do when planning a vacation is anticipate a medical emergency. Whether you’re in a faraway land or in your very own back yard, some planning can save your life and help those caring for you. Most of us realize that being a patient can happen when we least expect it. Hardly anyone focuses on the “other side of the coin.” One can become a caregiver overnight too!
Put spring into caregiving
Why not welcome the spring into your caregiving life!
Newly blooming flowers and the warm spring sunlight can be a signal to step outdoors, breathe in the Earth’s changes, and simply appreciate the glories of nature.