eldercare

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 …

A Caregiver’s Christmas Wish List

Posted on 12/9/2011 by Amy Goyer | Aging, Home & Family Expert | Comments

Caregiving | RelationshipsWondering what to give your favorite family caregiver this year? I have two wish lists this year, and I’ll share both of them with you. I hope they will help you zero in on what the caregivers in your life really want. First, this week: my Intangible Christmas Wish List. It’s a short list – only 5 items…surely Santa can help with these! All I want for Christmas is:

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 …

Managing Medications: It’s All About Organization

Posted on 11/29/2011 by Amy Goyer | Aging, Home & Family Expert | Comments

Caregiving | Relationships | Your LifeAnyone walking into Mom and Dad’s apartment this evening would have seen me as a cross between a mad scientist, a bean counter and a creative genius at work. Well, I’d like to think the creative genius part would be mixed in, but who knows? It’s that time of month that I have come to dread: the assemblage of 8 weekly pill organizers. Why dread it? Here’s why, by the numbers: 22 – The number of prescription medications my …