Caring for an aging parent Archives - Page 11 of 11

The ONE resource you need to initiate the power of prayer

Caring for an aging parent, Creating ME Time, Support System

2014 will always be remembered for me as a rough year. Both of my parents have been chronically ill for at least the past decade and there have been many ups and downs but in 2014 their lives started to spiral. In the spring of 2014, my mom has hospitalized with pneumonia and incubated due to breathing complications with her COPD and thankfully surprised us all when she bounced back. We truly thought we were going to lose her. It took weeks in a hospital and a rehab facility and lots of support and prayer. During these difficult months, my family was introduced to an amazing site called caringbridge.org.

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Honoring my Dad’s birthday

Caring for an aging parent, Mental Growth & Hobbies

Growing up the month of June was all about my dad. He was the only one in my immediate family with a June birthday and we celebrated Father’s day, too. Needless to say, I’ve been thinking and talking about him a lot this week. This August it will be a year since his passing so we have almost made it through all the ‘firsts’ without him.

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How to lift your mood without a prescription

Caring for an aging parent, Happy Days

For me music is a mood lifter.

It just takes a minute to set the mood. Usually when people talk about mood music they are referring to setting the mood for an elegant dinner party or an evening of romance. But, mood music is so much more than just dinner and ‘dessert’.

The right song can shake lack of confidence, put some sparkle in a ho-hum routine, shine light in the remains of a tough day, ignite a happy memory and remind me what I have to be thankful for.

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The hot pursuit for motherhood mastery

Caring for an aging parent, Happy Days, Mental Growth & Hobbies, Support System

I’m feeling nostalgic…or maybe just hormonal. As Mother’s Day approaches, I find myself reflecting on the mothers in my family tree and my surrounding motherhood forest of friends and how they all contribute to the mom I am and aspire to be.

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To be or not to be an anonymous blogger – that was the question

Caring for an aging parent, Mental Growth & Hobbies, Support System

Blogging Anonymously

When I first started my Savvy Sandwicher blog earlier this year, I was afraid to announce that I was the author. I primarily wanted to stay behind the curtain because I wanted to feel complete freedom of speech which meant writing without offending anyone. I really dislike confrontation.

I lasted about a month before coming out.

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I’m unpacking my bags and refusing to take the guilt trip

Caring for an aging parent, Mental Growth & Hobbies, Support System

I’m tough on myself and I hate to let others down. Guilt is a common emotion for me – truly probably a daily occurrence. You see, it’s impossible to make everyone happy in a world with so many competing priorities. Just like an overstuffed sandwich, some wonderful initially desired ingredient is going to slip out and get left behind on the plate or the wrapper. We can just fit only so much into our mouths or into our day.

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Mom says it is best to be seen AND heard

Caring for an aging parent

I witnessed a mini miracle this week. It’s been difficult to get mom to all the specialists she needs to see since my dad passed away seven months ago and we moved mom into her assisted living. Hearing aids was next on the list. Part of the reason it’s been a chore to get her to her appointments is that I have a full time job and my appointments and many of my kid’s appointments were set aside so we could help care for mom, dad, and my husband’s mom who passed last December. Appointments got backed up and oh by the way, I missed a ton of work. So we slowly chip away at the list.

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Top 10 reasons We Chose Mom’s Assisted Living Community

Caring for an aging parent

First, let me start by saying that there is no perfect assisted living. Afterall, I don’t know of one person who has chosen to live their twilight years in an assisted living. The phrase assisted living simply means you have lost partial control of your daily activities.

When we started looking for an assisted living last summer, my dad was in the hospital and we were focused on a place for a couple. Frankly, we didn’t know the timing or the details, but we were confident that my dad was no longer going to be able to help care for my mom and my brother and that they needed to be closer to family.

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How to have ‘the talk’ with your Parents about moving in to an Assisted Living community

Caring for an aging parent

The reality is that I had several talks with my parents encouraging them to simplify their lives by downsizing and finding a place where life could be easier for them.

Sadly, I feel that I have been grieving my parents for over a decade. They had been slowly killing themselves with complications from morbid obesity and diabetes. It’s been devastating to watch and frustrating to witness the pain their addictions with food and sedentary lifestyles have caused themselves and their families.

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Throw up Thursday

Caring for an aging parent

Earlier today, I thought I’d write a Throwback Thursday post and tell a great past story. But, then my day felt more like ‘Throw up Thursday’. I already knew this….but today confirmed that I’m a creature of habit and I thrive in structure, I can get by on a day with little structure, but I really don’t like a whole day of unexpected crazy.

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