Earlier this year a new caregiver couple moved into my mother’s group home. Prior to their retiring, the former caregivers tended to my mother for three years with great love and kindness. This changeover could have been a time of apprehension but I was reassured by an interaction that first week. While setting the table and about to serve that evening’s dinner, Delia remarked: “I hope they like it. I put my soul into it.” Read more
Here’s how my Monday morning started last week. I walked upstairs to my office and when there was no computer in sight, the feeling in the pit of my stomach told me what must have happened. That Sunday while on my way into the grocery store, I brought my laptop with me so it wouldn’t be exposed to the high heat inside the car on a June day in Scottsdale — it was 107 degrees outside. After shopping for about an hour, I quickly loaded the groceries into the car. In my haste to get home with the refrigerated items, I left my laptop in the shopping cart, lined up in the parking lot stall. Since I decided to have a computer-free Sunday afternoon, I didn’t notice it was missing until bright and early Monday morning. Read more
It was a few days before my birthday in early December 2009, and a card from my parents had just arrived in the mail. Mom’s Alzheimer’s symptoms were still subtle at that time. Previously she would have written “Dear Ginny” and “Love Mom and Dad.” In this card, however, there were only three words: Shine, Ginny, Shine. I was immediately struck by the coincidence in that I had just selected my theme for the upcoming year: Shine. Though I hadn’t shared that with her, somehow my mother had known what to affirm. It wasn’t the first time. Read more
Today’s issue is #2 is a three-part series and a follow-up to: Why Should You Be Happy?
You get this question all the time. You pose it to your loved ones upon arrival at home. In response you might hear anything from: Pretty good; It was okay, to: Lousy, don’t even ask. Is a good day when good things happen to you and a bad day the opposite? Perhaps on some level, yes, though there’s more to it. Read more