It seems to me that family caregivers are part of a special, members only Christmas Club. I’m not talking about the sort from years gone by when being part of a Christmas Club meant that you had a unique bank account to save for the holidays. I mean something more special and, well, meaningful. Before unveiling the secret handshake and rules...
Here we are a week before Thanksgiving. Not only are we seeped in pumpkin everything, but thanks to retail it feels like the Christmas season is in full swing. My middle-school aged daughter comments on the abundance of television ads with “personified” toys coming to life after store hours. Personally, I get a kick out of the International Delight creamer...
This month we acknowledge the contributions of the more than 44 million Americans who care for a family member, friend, or neighbor. I hope you’ll take time to appreciate friends and family members who support a loved one with their health or managing a disability. ...
The reality is that while caregiving can be deeply rewarding, in fact life-changing, the family caregivers’ needs often go unnoticed. With the primary focus on the caree (aka - the recipient of the care) it is the caregivers who are slowly burning out. For employers not in-tune with the warning signs, or even the generational characteristics of the caregiver demographic,...
One of my favorite simple pleasures in summertime is driving with the windows down. The cool air and earthy smells of living near wooded lots and lakes in central Massachusetts is heaven. Every once in a while I’ll catch a hint of a campfire and I’m transported back to the summers of my childhood. Random memories spark as quick as a...
As we roll up to summer, we finally give ourselves permission to take time off. Right? According to data from U.S. News & World Report, American workers take less time off than workers in other developed nations. In 2000, a typical American worker took nearly twenty-one vacation days. By 2013, it had dropped to sixteen. What if you’re a family caregiver?...
Ahh, the warmer days of spring (cue the joyful trumpeting). The delight of seeing tulips and flowering trees in bloom, the smell of fresh-cut grass and, lest we forget, spring cleaning and yard sales! I get a little giddy at the prospect of yard sales. That is—as the seller, the peddler, the clutter un-loader. I’m rarely on the buying side of...
Seinfeld fans can usually quote many of the show’s infamous lines. One that stands out for me is, “You gotta come and see the baabby.” In that episode, Jerry expresses his annoyance with new parents who emphatically insist that he come and "see the baabby." As a former family caregiver, I likened and recognized that same whiny tone every time...
I feel like I can pretty much do anything when I have on my rubber dishwashing gloves. In fact, I love that rubber glove manufacturers have caught on to the fact that some of us may want to be fashionable while doing dishes and make them available in fun colors and styles. Sure, I have my share of basic yellow,...
For the longest time, I never knew, let alone identified with any of the labels– Sandwich Generation, Intergenerational Caregiver or for that matter– family caregiver! Sure, Working Mother, Good Daughter, Chief Dishwasher, you bet…but caregiver? Wait, what?! But that’s exactly the life I led for approximately five years. As is the case for so many, it was a life-altering experience, for...
