My older brother, the Reverend Doctor Jim Robinson, is a very special man. Through the 65 years I’ve been his little sister, he’s been my friend, my rival, my tormenter, my hero, and when I came to the end of my caregiver’s rope, he was my rescuer. When I finally picked up the phone and [...]
I visited with Mom earlier this week. There is less of her each time I see her. I’m not talking about physical size, although she is losing weight now that she can’t feed herself and can’t graze off the plates of her tablemates, but her life is getting smaller and smaller.
David and I spent a few days around New Year with my brother Jim. We enjoy spending time with him and Jo Lynn. They’re a fun couple who always has neat ideas of interesting things to do, and they are excellent hosts. That alone would be enough of an incentive for a visit, but they [...]
We had our Thanksgiving lunch at the Senior Center today, and I’ve been giving a lot of thought to being thankful. Gratitude has been a popular subject on the Internet lately, from the hoopla over Tim Tebow’s public prayers of thanks for his God-given talents to Facebook challenges to post a status of gratitude each [...]
This is a journal entry from the day before my brother Jim arrived to move Mom and Dad to their new home. After caring for them in my home for six years, I reached the point of “I can’t do this anymore.” (See my August 8th post) After my come-apart, Jim found a lovely assisted [...]
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance: all the classic stages of grief. As a caregiver, I’d add another stage: burnout. My mom’s memory started to fail about 15 years ago, and my role as her caregiver started with an occasional offer of assistance, “Here, Mom, let me help you with that,” and progressed to a cry [...]
My 7-year-old grandson Mattias frequently makes comments or asks questions that get him published in his dad’s writings or at least posted on Facebook. This is the most recent one. “Dad, how come, when people get older, they smell a little bit worse?”
I dreamed about Mom and Dad last night. I do that quite a bit lately. I guess it’s my subconscious working through the grief of Dad’s death and the nagging guilt that caregivers feel about this decision or that situation that could have been resolved differently or handled better. When I woke up at 4:30, [...]
I’ve been thinking more about days lately and less about months or years. Maybe it’s because Mom’s 90th birthday is coming up. When you’re 10 or 20 years old, being 90 is something you can’t imagine, but when you’re next birthday will bring a Medicare card, imagining it is a little easier.
Accepting the fact that you can no longer care for your loved ones without help is one of the hardest things a caregiver has to do. I was instant messaging last week with a cousin who is the primary caregiver for his mother. She has Alzheimer’s, and as her condition worsens, he is dealing with [...]
