Family

Returning Hope

I read a meditation by Matthew Kelly today that really spoke to my heart:“We lose sight of all the good and get consumed by the turmoil we are embroiled in. We are tempted at these times to think that life will never be good again. This is the perspective that steals away our hope. The […]

Holding Hands

The other day, when my granddaughter and I went outside, she grabbed ahold of my hand. I forgot what it felt like to have a child’s hand in mine. My heart melted. She did the same thing today when we were out shopping for back to school supplies. Later, my mom and I went to […]

Cleaning Day

It has been way too long since this house has had a good cleaning. I decided this morning that is how I would spend the day. I was even able to recruit my brother and sister to do some vacuuming and dusting. I guess amidst what feels like chaos every day, cleaning helps me to […]

Caregiving Culture

As I was thinking about what to write this evening, I started looking back through my communications with my siblings beginning when my dad was in the hospital. When I read them, it put me right back in that hospital room trying desperately to keep my dad awake so he would sleep through the night. […]

Not a Great Day

When I arrived to visit my dad today, he was in one of the big living rooms looking for his keys. He said he was dizzy and sat down and went right to sleep. I was informed that he had been up most of the night rearranging the pictures on the walls. When he was […]

Generational Connection

My son is having some troubles getting into the house they were to rent, so he, his wife, the 3 kids and 2 dogs spent the day with us. My granddaughter who just turned 6 and my mother had such a sweet connection, it made my heart swell. My mother was playing solitaire on her […]

They’re Here

During all the upheaval of life, my son and his family decided to move here from the east coast. I could hardly believe it when the decision was made. That seems like forever ago. My daughter in law and two of the kids flew in the other day. It wasn’t a pleasant trip as my […]

Move to Memory Care

Well moving my dad into memory care went as good as to be expected. The transportation service I set up from his previous facility to the new one arrived and left without him. No one told us they were there. The head nurse also said no one there knew he was discharging today. It was […]

Mani Pedi

Today I realized my dad’s fingernails were getting a little long. So I gave him a nice manicure. A little later I wore my sandals as we sat outside enjoying the warm day. I noticed my toenails were looking pretty bad and told my dad I was in need of a pedicure. He offered to […]

Mr. Fix-it

My brother in law has numerous amazing talents and skills. I am always in awe of what he does around his farm – everything from building the taj-ma-coop for the chickens to maintaining the dirt road for him and the other 9 property owners. In the past couple of weeks he has done some things […]