What to Do After You’ve Lost Your Cool with your Aging Parents
We’re all human. We’ve probably all felt the guilt and remorse after losing our cool with our aging parents, relatives or care recipients. Aside from feeling badly, what can we actively do to make amends after we’ve blown up at them? How do we begin to repair the relationship after a hurtful incident? Making up [...]
True Confessions: When I Lost Patience with My Aging Parents
In a prior post I acknowledged that in our role as family caregivers, we’ve all probably lost our patience with our aging parents or care recipients at some point. I also promised to share with you my own experience, so here goes. I Never Lost My Patience (Part One of Two) I was a long [...]
A Lesson on Positive Thinking for Pessimistic Aging Parents
On Wednesdays at TLeC I usually provide inspiring quotes, photos and/or stories for caregivers. Today for a change of pace, I am presenting words of wisdom about aging from a 90 year old man to share with your pessimistic aging parents. Because along with caregivers, our senior citizens (or Golden Oldies as I prefer to [...]
Tips for When Aging Parents Say Mean Things
Thank you to the reader who recently sent me this question: “My elderly mother-in-law has gotten mean in the last few years. She’ll say mean things to people — mostly family members, but also others sometimes. I don’t think she even realizes how hurtful she’s being. Does this happen to elderly people often?” In my [...]
A New Twist on Holiday Decorating for Your Aging Parents
I just got back from decorating my mom’s room at the board and care cottage for Hanukkah. While she was being fed lunch in the kitchen, I played a CD of Hanukkah music as I cheerily put up the decorations. For about two-thirds of each day now, Mom, age 99, is in bed in her [...]
A Holiday Gathering for Family Caregivers
I was planning to write a post about family caregivers, our aging parents and/or relatives, and the many issues we might face during the hectic holiday season. In organizing my own thoughts and researching this topic, I found there are many excellent resources already available on the internet about this very subject. Instead of reinventing [...]
Family Caregivers Communication Class — Part 5: How to Talk with Aging Parents When They Can’t Speak
This is Part 5 in a series. Please see the bottom of this article for a link to the first four parts of the Family Caregivers Communication Class. We take talking with our parents for granted . . . until our aging parents can’t speak any longer. My mom gradually stopped speaking and since October [...]
Family Caregivers Communication Class — Part 4: Talking with Hearing Impaired Aging Parents
This is Part 4 in a series. You can read Part 1 “Think Before You Speak” here. You can read Part 2 “Speaking Easily About Difficult Topics” here. You can read Part 3 “Dealing with Pessimistic Aging Parents” here. I recently spent eight days traveling with my cousins and one Golden Oldie aunt, age 90, [...]
Family Caregivers Communication Class — Part 3: Dealing with Pessimistic Aging Parents
This is Part 3 in a series. You can read Part 1 “Think Before You Speak” here. You can read Part 2 “Speaking Easily About Difficult Topics” here. “For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson The two previous classes covered skills and strategies for talking about [...]
Let’s Pay it Forward and Help Another Blogger!
On Saturday I received an interesting email from Ryan at Inside Assisted Living about an online survey he is conducting on the levels of knowledge, attitudes and preparedness family caregivers have about assisted living. In his words, “this is the only survey of its kind — one that takes a ‘by families, for families’ approach.” [...]
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