caring for aging parents

Family Conversations About Driving – A Few Tips

Posted on 03/20/2012 by Amy Goyer | Aging, Home & Family Expert | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | RelationshipsI recently appeared on CBS This Morning and NBC Nightly News to discuss having conversations with older loved ones about driving. I received many comments and questions about this hot topic. So many of us are dealing with this issue with our parents. In response to these questions and in follow up to my post about my conversations with my Dad about his driving, here are a few tips about how to talk with your older loved ones about this …

Having “The Talk” About Driving with My Dad

Posted on 03/20/2012 by Amy Goyer | Aging, Home & Family Expert | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | RelationshipsDad was “The Man” behind the wheel. From his first Model T that he and his college buddies fixed up in the 1940s to the “ooze-mobile,” which I used to call his big white Oldsmobile that hit the pavement like butter, he enjoyed almost 80 years of driving. He was like a race car driver when he whipped around the hills of Athens County, Ohio in our family Chevy Corvair. In 1989, Mom had a stroke and couldn’t drive anymore so Dad became her trusted …

Mindfulness: A Caregiver’s New Year’s Goal

Posted on 01/1/2012 by Amy Goyer | Aging, Home & Family Expert | Comments

Caregiving | Relationships | Your LifeIt’s that time of year when we all stop to reflect on the past year and think about those pressure-filled “New Year’s Resolutions.” But you know what? I already have plenty of pressure when it comes to caregiving for both of my parents. So this year, as I began to make the usual laundry list of personal “resolutions” such as losing weight, exercising every day, eating more healthily, keeping up with paperwork, addressing a whole list of health issues my parents are facing, simplifying …

I’ll Be at the Hospital for Christmas

Posted on 12/25/2011 by Amy Goyer | Aging, Home & Family Expert | Comments

Caregiving | Relationships | Your LifeThe brilliant red Poinsettia is on the table, Christmas card beside it. Visitors come and go bringing hugs and Christmas cheer. There is turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie in the dining room. In the background, I hear the sound of vintage 1949 Bing Crosby filling the air with “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and with all my heart I wish we were. But we’re not – we’re at the hospital for Christmas. The table decorated with Poinsettia and Christmas cards …

Part II: A Caregiver’s Christmas Wish List

Posted on 12/14/2011 by Amy Goyer | Aging, Home & Family Expert | Comments

Caregiving | Relationships | Your LifeWhile the intangibles in my Caregiver’s Christmas Wish List post last week are at the top of my list, there are, of course, some pretty darn tangible items I’d also love to have as a caregiver! Here is a sampling of items most caregivers yearn for, Santa Baby, so hurry down the chimney with these goodies: 1. A new car (might as well start big!): OK I’d love to have a new little red sports car, but what I need desperately …

AARP Caregiving Forum Round-up

Posted on 12/2/2011 by Amy Goyer | Aging, Home & Family Expert | Comments

Caregiving | Relationships | Your LifeEarlier this week, I watched AARP’s forum, The Challenges of Family Caregiving: What Needs to be Done? via webcast. Sitting in front of my computer in Arizona, I watched the speakers discuss their caregiving experiences and their recommendations for program and policy improvements to support more than 40 million family caregivers in the U.S. The 10 speakers were authors of books about caregiving and experts in their fields, but first and foremost, they are – or have been – family …