Teepa Snow is a world-renowned dementia specialist who is leading the charge to ensure that anyone can use proven techniques to interact and work with someone living with a progressive brain disease. Through her company Positive Approach to Care, Teepa creates resources for family and professional caregivers, the medical community and others via YouTube, TikTok ..read more

I recently met someone who became a horticulture therapist after leaving the field of education. I was intrigued by our discussion and the therapeutic power of gardening for our elders. The practice of horticulture for therapy and rehabilitation gained traction in the 1940s and 1950s as part of the rehabilitative care for hospitalized war veterans. Today, you will find horticulture therapy used in physical rehabilitation and vocational settings to help people learn to work independently. But it is the success this modality has in helping to improve memory, cognitive abilities, task initiation ..read more

Years ago when my dog, Josh, became ill he was diagnosed with several tumors. The initial diagnosis was a UTI, pancreatitis and colitis, but an X-ray taken as part of diagnostics was cloudy. The ultrasound clearly showed tumors and a slow bleed from one of them. It was the last thing I expected. I don’t think there is anything worse than going from a waiting room to a small private room so a doctor can give you bad news. When she closed the door I asked, “Am I going to cry?” Her response, “Probably.” What took place next was a conversation about Josh’s age, diagnosis and options. When I said t ..read more

2023 was the year when, for the first time, I was able to really concentrate on my business. It feels good to see everything that was accomplished and gratifying to look back at the family caregivers whose lives I was able to touch. It felt like I was finally reclaiming my life. So, if 2023 was such a good year, why was the start of 2024 hard personally and professionally? Why did I find myself “languishing”, a term that describes feeling somewhat joyless and aimless? Why couldn’t I hit the ground running to continue booking opportunities to talk with family caregivers and begin outlining the ..read more

“How about if we just get really good at practicing extreme imperfection. Could this be the ultimate act of self-care?” Anne Tumlinson, Founder of Daughterhood.org Lord knows I’m imperfect. Like everyone, I’ve made mistakes in my personal and professional life and certainly as a caregiver. Yet, it’s the mistakes as a caregiver that stick with me more than the others. I am reminded of our need to be perfect as caregivers as I recently began helping a friend with her mother, one day a week for several hours. More of a companion than a caregiver, I still find myself worried that I am not doing th ..read more

“Don’t expect to feel good about every decision. Making decisions is like setting boundaries. You have to do it, but it will never feel good.” Anne Tumlinson, Daughterhood.org Making decisions as a caregiver is too often done under pressure while feeling like we don’t have enough information or experience. Certainly, health decisions are the most stressful but financial decisions are a close second. The best way to make these types of decisions is do it as care partners. Even the strongest of teams will have differences in goals and needs. You may want your elder to stop driving while they wan ..read more

“No One Has Caregiving on Their Bucket List” Chris MacLellan, Founder, Whole Care Network Isn’t that the truth? We don’t plan for it. We don’t anticipate the phone call that changes our life. And we sure don’t have it on our bucket list. Yet, it’s one of those statements which binds caregivers together in a beautiful and strangely poignant way. When I introduce this quote to family caregivers, the response is a short, ironic laugh or “isn’t that the truth”. This one quote and our united reaction to it connects us in a way which opens the door to share OUR stories. Too often, the only story we ..read more

“It’s easier to look back at an event and see a better choice or pathway because we already learned from our experience. Hindsight happens after the lessons, so we can’t condemn ourselves for not knowing the lesson before we learned it.” Emily Maroutian. Caregiving is a series of lessons, some of which come at us fast and furiously, like when we are suddenly responsible for medical caregiving tasks. Some lessons come slowly as we learn how to navigate the different stages of our caregiving role. Either way, we beat ourselves up because we did not see warning signs, signs which are always clear ..read more

“Monarch butterflies will not attempt to fly in the rain because the raindrops will damage their wings. They will rest and wait it out. It’s self-preservation. It’s okay to rest during the storms in your life. Take all the time you need. You will fly again once the storm passes.” Sharyn March, Poet, Leave Her Wild. What an amazing and brilliant lesson from mother nature. The constant battering during the storms of caregiving can damage us unless we make time to rest. I say storms because the poet does not differentiate between a steady, gentle rain and a downpour. Truthfully, the continuous re ..read more

THIS is the question caregivers ask themselves all the time. Nothing, and I mean nothing, prepares you for being a caregiver to aging parents or a spouse. You would think parenthood would prepare you. After all, children challenge you with their independence needs, but they don’t have years of living an independent life. Your elder or spouse has a history as a functioning member of society, a history of taking care of themselves and a family, so you can’t just end an argument with “because I said so.” Then there is the healthcare system. For years most families navigate the healthcare system f ..read more