Respite Care Can Save a Caregiver’s Sanity | by Linda Brendle

I Need a Break!

If you are or ever have been a caregiver, you know how important it is to get a break now and then. I read an article this morning by Jeff Anderson called Tips for Taking Caregiver Vacations: Respite Care. Jeff wrote mostly about how caregivers can use short-term stays at residential care facilities to get a break. I never took advantage of this kind of respite care. The idea of making the arrangements for both Mom and Dad and packing their clothes and medications, not to mention the expense involved, was overwhelming. But there were many other kinds of respite care that gave me an occasional break in the routine and saved my sanity.

Mini-Breaks

Even when Dad could no longer hear much of what was going on and Mom couldn’t understand what she heard, we continued to go to Sunday School and worship services every Sunday. I dropped Mom and Dad at a class for older adults before going to my own class and picked them up afterward on the way to the sanctuary. It was amazing what that hour did to raise my spirits.

Avoiding the Comparison Trap

Reblogged from WordServe Water Cooler:

Each one should test their own actions.
Then they can take pride in themselves alone,
without comparing themselves to someone else.  Galatians 6:4

Nothing stops the flow of creativity more than comparing myself to others.  Usually I’m comparing my insides to their outsides. My rough draft to their finished book. My internal  mess to their polished perfection.

Comparing makes me insecure.

Read more… 432 more words

There is so much wisdom in this article by The Writing Sisters that I had to share it. The wisdom goes well beyond the writing world and applies to every aspect of our lives. Blessings, Linda

Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s – Part 6 of 10 | by Linda Brendle

As a writer, I sometimes have trouble finding the right word for what I’m trying to say. Sometimes I refer to my Thesaurus, but I have to admit that sometimes I rewrite a sentence to use a word I can remember. I also have problems finding the correct word when I’m talking, but according to the Alzheimer’s Association, that’s a typical age-related change. If I start to have the following new problems with words in speaking or writing, then I have reason for concern:

Providing for the Least of These | by Linda Brendle

A sure way to start a riot on Facebook is to post a political comment. Nobody agrees on anything political with the exception of the national debt: that it has reached critical mass and that we have to stop spending money we don’t have. Ideas vary widely as to where cuts should be made: the military budget, tax advantages, entitlement programs. Some of the cuts will come after the elections, but some of them are happening right now, and some of them are happening right here in Emory, Texas. The media pundits throw around lots of impersonal words when addressing this issue, but it’s harder to talk about when there’s a face attached to the cut.

Senior Humor – Edition 7 | by Linda Brendle

It’s been a long week. Friends in Florida battled Tropical Storm Debbie, friends in Colorado fought wild fires, I went to the doctor with something like Pink Eye, and David went to the dentist with an abscessed tooth. Time for another look at the lighter side of life.

A Photo Update of My Garden | by Linda Brendle

Five weeks ago, I wrote about the garden I planted and showed you a picture. It was pretty sad looking.

My Charlie Brown garden 5 weeks ago.

It’s still no prize winner, but it’s making progress.

Helen Hagan Robinson 1921 – 2012

  

Helen Hagan Robinson, 90, went home to be with the Lord Sunday, May 20, 2012. She died peacefully in her sleep in her home at Southridge Village in Conway, Arkansas. 

 She was born September 3, 1921 in Burkburnett, Texas. On December 21, 1940, she married Elmer Robinson, her childhood sweetheart, in a double wedding ceremony with her sister, Fay, and Elmer’s brother, Dean. 

Grandpa and His Nerd | by Linda Brendle

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 said I can’t do this anymore, he picked up the reins and stepped in as Mom and Dad’s primary caregiver. It’s not an unfamiliar role for him. As a minister, he’s cared for the needs of various churches for over 50 years; and 15 years ago, he became one of the caregivers for his special grandson Kyle.

Jesus, the Caregiver

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 of despair, “I can’t do this anymore.”

Remembering

This is a note about my mom and Communion I published on FB on March 26, 2010. Today, my son Christian published a blogpost about his 2-year-old daughter and Communion. Check it out and see how things change over the generations and yet how they stay the same: 
http://networkedblogs.com/lNLvj

We celebrated the Lord’s Supper at church last Sunday morning. It is a beautiful service done in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, but remembering is not something Mom does very well. She is in the mid to late stages of Alzheimer’s and Communion has become very confusing for her.