50 Communication Tips and Techniques for Caregivers

Fiona King just sent me a link to a good article they just published at their site. I think it's important information every caregiver should know. Check it out:

50 Communication Tips and Techniques for Caregivers

It's Spring ... so what's my excuse now?

I was just outside removing all the winter debris (leaves, branches, etc.) that have accumulated in my garden and around my bushes and trees .... and I actually worked up a good sweat, raking, dragging trash cans, scooping up leaves, breaking up limbs, and so forth. I came inside feeling really good ... but then I sat here at this computer and proceeded to eat a whole bag of sesame sticks ... granted they are low fat and no salt, but there's still a whole lot of carbs in there .... it feels like I've defeated all my exercise by doing this.

And mom? This heat is so hard on her .... she went outside to sit and after about a half hour, she could hardly stand up she was shaking so badly .... I put up the umbrella on the patio but she refused to sit under it ... she insisted she was cold and wanted to sit in the sun. When she gets insistent like this, there's not much I can do to change her mind. So, now I'm sitting here feeling bloated from all the sesame sticks and she's passed out in her recliner ... what an exciting Saturday afternoon LOL

I'm heading out the door now for a long walk before I make our dinner .... let's hope I feel better when I get home.

uuummmmph

Adjusting to my lifestyle

Now that my sister is gone, I can't leave mom alone as long as I could before when my sister helped out with the mom coverage ... so I had to map out a four-leaf clover of 1-mile walks around my mom's neighborhood, with her house in the middle ... so I take these quick 1-mile walks and hopefully get all four of them in during the day so I've walked 4 miles or 1 hour ... it seems to work and I'm not away from mom long enough for her to get in trouble or worry about where I am. I hope this lasts for a while, cuz these walks are once again my sanity now that my sister is gone. And, while my sister was here, I did much too much snacking so I need to get back to good eating and exercise!

So far the news on my sister and her new life and career in Southern Cal is good. Here, Spring is in full bloom and I'm working in the yard a lot and that helps my mood.

Life is a bit boring, but at least nothing bad is currently happening ... and I pass the time getting phone calls from political candidates.

My sister has left

Man, I am so proud of my sister! The last 6 months, she has shown me her strength in so many ways ... and now, she is healed and has left today for her new career in California ... so now I no longer must caregive for her, but now it's just me and mom again ... and I'm really happy for my sister ... but it just accentuates to me how much I have given up to care for my mom ... my sister was able to get thru her struggles and get back to her life ... but I remain here without much of a social life.

I know, in my heart, that I will never regret having done this for my mom, but seeing my sister head back into the real world really makes me jealous!

I guess that's part of being a caregiver ... if you do a really good job, the people you care for will end up in better shape than you! Sooo ... I guess I just need to get back to caring for ME, while I continue to care for mom.

I'm proud of my sister for all she's done, but I guess I'm also proud of me for having helped her when she needed it most.

But, damn, I really miss her ... it was so nice, for these past 6 months, to have someone to talk to and laugh with. Today I'm overwhelmed with a feeling of loneliness.

Blog - Linda's Computer Stop: Conditional Formatting in Excel 2007

Since I haven't been blogging much in this blog lately, I figured I would show you what I've been doing. I'm trying to get my website up to date and include more stuff about Windows Vista and Office 2007 ... but, becuz mom's care takes up so much of my time, it's a slow process. Maybe if some of you caregivers are trying to find ways to work from home, my website will help train you in the use of software so you are more employable ... if so, that would make me happy. Here's a sample of one of the free tutorials I've added recently:

Blog - Linda's Computer Stop: Conditional Formatting in Excel 2007

I've been quiet for a while

I haven't posted in this blog in a while cuz this part of my life is mostly too private to share, I guess. But, I'm still here ... mom is doing well and my younger sister's head is all healed and she's leaving us in a couple weeks to move to California where she's just accepted a very good engineering job.

Me? I just had my 60th birthday yesterday and I'm still trying to get my head around that number ... but yes, I know, it's just a number.

Hope all you caregivers out there are doing OK.

Happy Holidays

Well, this year I'm happy that mom is able to enjoy another Christmas and my sister is able to drive again and is looking for a job. I'm also glad that my own health has improved greatly over the past year, since I've been eating better and exercising more (and losing weight ... YAY!!). I'm not real thrilled about some of the stuff I've had to go thru this year, but I'm hopeful 2008 will be better.

I'm with Tiny Tim and agree that God has blessed us, everyone ... I hope you all are safe and warm for the holidays.

Ho Ho Ho