Carol
Elderproofing the Yard
“The only way I am leaving this house is in a body bag,” asserted one of our new friends, a founder of the Denver virtual village now known as A Little Help. Along with Bill and me and 90% of those responding to a recent AARP survey, she prefers …
Occupy Death
A friend alerted us to the recently posted TED talk given by Dr. Peter Saul, an intensive care physician in Australia. The problem of frail elders’ lives artificially prolonged in the absence of clear instructions about end of life wishes is not si…
Eldercare Lit: Tribes of Eden
One of my favorite books these days is called What are Old People For? by William Thomas, M.D. If you need your consciousness raised about ageism–and most of us do, I think–this is the book to read first.
Now, Dr. Bill has written a novel. This is actually his second novel, and it is called Tribes of Eden. Set in a post-apocalyptic America, the book addresses the issues of loss of freedom and inter-generational cooperation and eventual triumph over an opportunistic totalitarian authority.
A Retirement Journal: The Bottom Line
Many years ago our wonderful accountant Darv gave us the magic number. He suggested that we needed to step up our savings in order to have $500,000 put away to support us during our retirement years. Since at that moment our combined IRA’s and 40…
A Recipe for Combating Ageism
Poking around on line for a bit of inspiration I came across this meaty morsel written by attorney Orrin Onken and republished in Ronni Bennett’s blog Time Goes By:
The Older Americans’ Pledge
We will not be judged by the values of youth.
We will not be expelled from work or play.
We will not equate aging with illness.
We will not be a subject matter for experts.
We will not be the objects of condescension or ridicule.
We will not be a social or economic problem.
We will not be trivialized.
We will not be docile.
We will not be interned.
We will treat our later decades as a unique stage of human development.
We will …
Vote for Inside Aging Parent Care to be Best of Web
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Strategies for Aging in Place: A Roommate
Informal group living is a trend in housing for seniors who don’t want to move to industrial senior care where they may be locked out of the main dining room if they become disabled. If you don’t believe you could get locked out of the di…
Caregiving: What’s in It for Me?—Redux
I’ve been poking around the blog this week pulling out a few posts to use as a basis for a submission to a local writing contest. In the process I came across a post that I wrote about a year after Dad’s death. I like it so much that I think it…
Caregiving and Technology
Years ago I could only use a yellow legal pad for my writing. If I didn’t have my yellow pad, I couldn’t write. Then a determined Bill coaxed me to try word processing. Now I love the ease of editing, the spellchecker and the way words flow…
Caregiving, Friendship and a Good Death
Bill and I had not heard that our friend Barbara was in hospice and close to death. We learned of her passing from another friend who makes a habit of studying the obituaries every Sunday. Despite her long-standing heart condition, I had expected B…
What is Your Favorite Memory?
This is the time of year for resolute looking forward. But as Janus, the Roman god that gives January its name, shows us, looking forward also involves looking back. Our stories about those who are ill and those who have left us are an important…
Caregivers Need Good Rx Info
One of the best things about being a caregiver blogger is our readers. We get so much good information and feedback from all of you. This is the time of year to pause and say: Many thanks to you all! We wish you and your loved ones all the best…
Caregiving and Cleaning the Oven
The house still smells slightly of smoke this morning. Bill and I were in the middle of paying bills yesterday when we decided to clean the oven. I’m not sure why. Maybe anything seemed preferable to tackling this month’s especially complicat…
Every Community Needs a Beatitudes
We’ve been hearing about the Beatitudes Nursing Home in Phoenix for awhile now. Beatitudes has what seems to be a unique strategy for caring for Alzheimer’s patients. They allow nearly anything that brings comfort to those in their care…
Mark Your Calendar for the AARP Family Caregiver Forum
Here is the link to sign on to the webcast on Dec 1 http://meta.media.qualitytech.com/m/wm/wlj-01/COMP008760SCH1_AARP_Caregiving_Forum.wvx And here is a link to the current website describing the event http://www.aarp.org/relationships/caregiving/…
What is the Caregiver’s Role in an Aging Parent’s Death?
My dad, Frank, died over a year ago at the age of 91. When he finally came to live in Denver two years before his death, I thought I would be able to help him have a better life, a happier old age. It turned out that the real job was to support him…
Revisiting Our Tribute to All Vets
Last November Bill wrote this Veteran’s Day tribute. Thanks to all vets, living and dead, including those so close to me. In memory of Frank Leavenworth 1918-2010, U.S. Army 1944-1945, and all the veterans who have served. On the eleventh hour…
Aging Homeowners Benefit from Village Assistance
If you own your home and your son doesn’t rehab old houses, you need a handyman (or woman). This person must be competent, reliable and trustworthy. They must have good communication skills and be affordable. This is an amazingly tall order in …
“What If’s” and “If Only’s” in the Aftermath of Caregiving
Recently one of our readers wrote to us about some of his feelings following the death of his mother. “I am overwhelmed with guilt for not always being a good caregiver – giving in to work stressors, tiredness, other concerns,” he said. “
Ten Famous People Who Flourished After Being Fired
Once again the folks at Onlinedegreeshub.com have come through with a timely report. We know several people presently out of work, so it is nice to be reminded that there may be a silver lining out there for them. Being fired is by far one of the wor…
