Sandwiched

In March, I impulsively (as is my nature) signed up for the Ride for Alzheimer’s and completed the 200 Mile Challenge successfully!! I have been trying to prioritize movement as a vital form of self care for me and when I saw the invitation to join I thought, “Why not?!” I didn’t really anticipate people…More

I’ve generally been feeling some reprieve from the intensity of overwhelm I had been feeling over winter. The days are longer, there’s more time to get things done, including fitting in self care. I’ve been noticing I feel less underwater and more like I’m actually swimming. These past weeks I met and hired someone to…More

It was such an incredible difficulty for my mom to manage her meds. We went from a weekly pill case to pre-packaged blister packs from her local pharmacy. But it was still agonizing – she just could not keep track of how to take them and get anxiety around it, which led her to call…More

I’ve been trying to come to terms with what Harm Reduction can look like in the context of taking care of my mom with dementia. In an ideal world she would have full time care or a safe place to live with others but we are constrained by money, a small and distant family, and…More

I met today with an elder lawyer I was referred to for a free consultation via a Caregiver Resource center I am connected with. The news was about what I expected, and it’s helpful to have a clearer picture of what the future holds and our options. But the options aren’t great. Basically, we will…More

We made it through another round of storms. I made the decision not to evacuate my mom because she was refusing to go until the cat was in, and as it turned out, none of her neighbors were going. There is another storm coming tomorrow and I think I will try my best to help…More

With the next “atmospheric river” headed our way and knowing it may be stressful if I end up needing to evacuate my mom, I decided to prioritize self care this morning. We scrapped our morning routine, grabbed coffee and a croissant, and went for a walk to the ocean before work.More

My mom’s house is in a flood zone, and this year, we have had a tremendous amount of rain. On New Year’s Eve, I received a call that her street had waist high water flowing through it, but fortunately, her house is up a sloped driveway and didn’t flood. Needless to say, it was a…More