Can you believe it? We’re soon to be celebrating the New Year! Closing up the chapter in our lives called 2018 and starting a fresh one full of opportunities and adventures.
Perhaps you are already considering what’s ahead for 2019 and finalizing resolutions, goals, and good intentions. For me, I like to first reflect back on the year and celebrate the wins and digest the learnings to help inform the year ahead. This is my third year of publishing my reflection on the Happy Healthy Caregiver blog (2016, 2017).
The Wins for Happy Healthy Caregiver in 2018
- I wrote and published a book! It’s called Just for You: a Daily Self-Care Journal and it’s out in the world serving as a wonderful tool to help many people be intentional with their self-care. The idea of many reflecting on the exact same daily self-care question or writing prompt just makes me HAPPY. I feel we are stronger together and this small daily intention will keep us all connected. While I wrote this with caregivers in mind, it’s truly for anyone that wants more health and happiness in their life. Learn more about the benefits of journaling in this podcast episode. Do you have your Daily Self-Care Journal yet? I think you’ll enjoy kicking off 2019 with your own personal copy.
- Another successful year of monthly Atlanta Daughterhood Circle meetups is in the books. There’s power in physically getting together to support one another – no one understands the ups and downs of caregiving more than another caregiver. We laugh, we cry, and we enjoy connecting over good food and drink. Check out Daughterhood to see if there is a support group that meets near you (or start your own!).
- I introduced two awesome women (current or former family caregivers) to the Certified Caregiving Consulting Program. If you are considering becoming a CCC, let’s set up a call to chat about the program.
- The Happy Healthy Caregiver mailing list is oh so very close to hitting 1K subscribers! I’m grateful for those of you who introduce the website, the podcast, the social sites to others you know. Word of mouth is the BEST way for caregivers to find the support they need. Is there someone you know that is helping out an aging parent or another loved one? Forward this post to the people that just popped into your head. Sharing is caring :-). What are you waiting for…email this recap to a friend who is caring for a loved one so they too can be connected to support and resources. And, if you aren’t on the email list yet, click here.
- I love to spread the mission of Happy Healthy Caregiver and was thrilled to be a featured guest on the following podcasts: On the Frontlines of Caregiving (topic: Caregiving and Sibling Issues), engAGING Conversations, Chaney Speaks: The Fierce Caregiver Show and Eldercare Illuminated (topic: Working with Siblings to Coordinate Care).
- The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast celebrated its one-year anniversary in November. That’s 52 straight weeks of recording, producing, publishing, and socially sharing podcasts! Thank you to SanGenLife for listing the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast as one of seven caregivers need in their lives. The other amazing benefit I didn’t see coming is that I have sparked an interest in a few others to consider becoming podcasters on the Whole Care Network. If you’ve thought about podcasting or you have a current podcast but it isn’t part of a network, I’m happy to share more about my experiences and the benefits of being in a network. If you are a business that caters to family caregivers, we also need to chat! I’m looking for show sponsors (contact me for more information). Here’s your top 3 most listened to podcasts for 2018:
- At the Third Annual National Caregiving Conference (2018) in Chicago where the theme was ‘Our Best Selves’ I helped emcee and shared two presentations. My sister Susie (currently the primary family caregiver for my mom) and I presented Sharing the Care – How one Family Has Approached Caregiving. I also led a session for professionals who work with caregivers called Starting or Running a Side Hustle While Working and/or Caregiving.
- While presenting at national conferences is spectacular, I also get joy from partnering with local and private organizations. l shared multiple sessions with a Stephen Ministry group at the Roswell Presbyterian Church and presented a private webinar on Self-care Strategies for employees that are part of the Torchlight community. Interested in having me be a keynote speaker or presenter at your 2019 caregiving or women’s event? Contact me for details including a list of my presentation or workshop topics and my media kit.
- I always like to look back and see what were the top blog posts for the year. Two of the most popular posts for 2018 have been around since 2016! For 2018, the five most popular posts were:
20 Happy & Healthy Songs for your Workout Playlist
6 Behaviors To Cultivate A Mindset Of Abundance While Caregiving
Writing a Self-Care Plan or Your Own Care Instructions
10 Unique Mother’s Day Gifts for Seniors
How to Identify and Create Boundaries while Caregiving
Wins for the Millers in 2018
- Both of my children visited Nicaragua in February with their church youth group. This was Natalie’s fourth visit to the same community and Jacob’s first. So proud of their giving nature.
- I started a new job on May 1. I transitioned from my senior management position in IT to a director position with our corporate strategy department. This change definitely had an impact on our home life since my commute is longer and my responsibilities are more demanding. While our family cooking used to be more balanced between Jason and I it’s definitely landing more on him these days since he has a bit more flexibility.
- Natalie graduated high school last May and she started her Freshman year at the University of Alabama! Jason went to Bama for a few years before finishing up at Georgia State. We’ve been adjusting to not having her around daily. Shadow still looks for her in her room for some snuggles. This was an emotional transition for me but truthfully, it’s difficult to be sad when she is just so darn happy. Switching my mindset to focus on her has really helped me cope with this big change. Facetime and group family texts and photos also help keep us connected.
- No big European vacations this year (past trips: Paris, Barcelona, Ireland, and Italy)…gotta figure out the new changes to our budget with college and sorority expenses! We enjoyed our annual summer trek to Hubbard Lake, Michigan, and got a taste of Grandpa and Sally’s new home in San Miguel, Mexico!
- Jacob turned 16 and got his license! The kids share a Jetta and since Natalie doesn’t need a car at school, Jacob has been enjoying his freedom with the car.
- Mom and Susie have now lived in Michigan for all four seasons. They both moved to Michigan in the fall of 2017 to live permanently in what has traditionally been my parent’s summer home. Click here to listen to the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast episode with Susie and back in February I interviewed mom for a Caregiver Spotlight episode!
- Mom’s health took a new turn this fall. Her chronic conditions continue to impact her health and mobility. This fall, mom made the decision to go on hospice and receive palliative care. The focus is all about keeping her comfortable. Last month, she found she could no longer transfer back and forth to a wheelchair so she is now 100% in a hospital bed. She has a beautiful view of the lake and Susie keeps mom comfortable by moving her frequently, cooking all her favorite meals, and playing games or watching movies when mom feels up to it. We are grateful for the time we have with mom and are reminded daily of how important it is to care for ourselves and enjoy the little pleasures in each day.
- This summer, Jason’s dad gave us a scare. A routine prostate biopsy resulted in an infection that hospitalized his dad. Thankfully, he recovered from the sepsis and e Coli and he seems back to his old self again.
- I’m continuing to work my way through my ‘50 before 50 Bucket List‘. Just a few things got checked off in 2018 including updating our will, ice-fishing at Hubbard Lake (well it was really watching ice golf but I’m crossing this off), and flying first class (we got upgraded on our recent trip to Mexico!).
- I also made a huge dent in my read 200 books goal since I read over my age in books this year! You’ll find some caregiving books on there including: Prisoners Without Bars by Donna Figurski, Estate Planning for the Sandwich Generation by Catherine Hodder Esq, How to Have Fun with Your Aging Parents by Christina Britton Conroy, Being Mortal by Atul Gawande and Showering with Nana by Cathy Sikorski. Curious about what else I read and enjoyed? Check out my Goodreads Year in Books recap here.
- I’m happy to report that according to my FitBit dashboard I have logged almost 2.9 million steps this year and averaged about 5K a day (3.19 miles). Many of these miles were logged on the Peloton bike we gifted to each other for Mother’s Day/Father’s Day. I had a goal to average 7 hours of sleep a night and survey says I hit that 6 out of the 12 months this year.
So…we want to know. What worked for you in 2018? Share what’s good. Share what had a huge impact on you. Share a few of your big wins and key learnings. Or maybe don’t share but do a private assessment of your 2018. Whichever form of reflections you choose, I’m proud of you for taking a few moments to wrap up the last year of your life before moving on to a fresh new year.
P.S. Kickoff 2019 by being intentional with your health & happiness by getting your copy of the Daily Self-Care Journal. Click the image below for details or to order.
