caregiver Archives - Page 13 of 14 - Aging, caregiving and the journey through the second half of life

So what’s in the world come over you…

June 22, 2012

The title of this blog is taken from John Prine’s song “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness,” which seems apropos for an article on the profound impact of loneliness on the health of aging parents. Here’s the first punch line:…

The First Cousin

December 11, 2011

I grew up amid a herd of cousins, surrogate brothers and sisters who were embedded in my childhood. Operating as life scouts, they lived a few years ahead of me on the dangerous and uncharted perimeter of the adult world.…

The Wrong Signals: Shutting Down Change Before It Starts

July 30, 2011

How do we help our aging parents consider making positive changes in their lives? We want to help, and feel we have good ideas that could improve their quality of life. For example, we would like for them to consider:…

Navigating Caregiver Dilemmas

May 25, 2011

As the drama of aging parents unfolds, it reveals itself as layers of interconnected dilemmas that resist heroic attempts to keep everything together. Like an unruly Rubik’s Cube, alignment in one caregiver area seems to trigger chaos in another. Just…

Boomer Perspective: Moment of Truth

December 21, 2010

One sees great things from the valley, only small things from the peak. —Chesterton While aging is inevitable, arriving at a healthy perspective about its meaning and potential is not. In our youth-oriented culture, middle age more often than not…

When Am I Going Home From The Nursing Home?

April 3, 2010

This is one of the predictable dilemmas of aging we all wish we could avoid. We can’t. At some point we run out of aging-in-place options and a parent winds up in a place they never wanted to be, a…

Caregiver Stress? Try Inspirational Walking

December 13, 2009

Caregiver stress is well documented and extracts a heavy toll on both caregivers and their families. In the heat of trying to keep everything together, it is hard for caregivers to find effective strategies that offer some respite from the…

What I Know Now: Lessons From Looking Back

November 1, 2008

Last June I was interviewed by Nell Bernstein, Senior Editor at Caring.com about what “I would have done differently” in caring for my mother based on what I know now. Below is my response: Talking With David Solie June 2008…

Bitter Endings

October 26, 2008

We wished things had turned out different. They didn’t. History and personalities brought the drama of our aging parents to its only logical and painful conclusion. But as Linda Kriger points out in her heart felt article entitled Seeking Forgiveness…

Working with Low Income Seniors

October 4, 2008

I was recently asked by a large medicare provider how my work on the developmental tasks of seniors could be used by their patient advocates with a predominately low income population. I thought is was an excellent question, and here…