Taking care of Gram is a blessing and a joy, but it does require some adjustments and some work, especially around the holidays. Gram’s dementia means that routine and stability are paramount to her happiness, and she is always less anxious when everything is the same. Holiday visits from families, extra activity in the house, … Read more
We are an inter-generational household. Three and a half years ago, we moved my grandmother in with us. Mark and I both firmly believe in the sanctity of all human life, from conception to natural death, and we believe that all people deserve to be loved and cared for with dignity. We have the means … Read more
Elder care is hard. It can be exhausting. And dementia care, well that’s a whole other ball game. Dementia doesn’t just affect a person’s memories, it affects their emotional state too. Lately when we’ve been going out with Gram, especially when it’s somewhere new, she’s been lashing out at me on the way there. Today, … Read more
It’s true about children, and it’s true about the elderly. I learn and grow every single day of caring for Gram. Sometimes I wish there was a “100 Things You Need to Know About Caring for the Elderly” book or a “5 Things to Do to Keep a Peaceful Inter-generational Home” article, a quick and … Read more
We’ve reached an exciting (and slightly terrifying) stage of life over here- we are in the process of buying our first house. Since we found out that Mark matched locally, we’ve been working with a realtor and hoping to find a place to call home in our current town. The right house in the right … Read more
One of the hardest parts of elder care, at least for me, is finding the right balance between what Gram is capable of and what she needs help with. As she’s gotten older, we’ve seen new losses of capacity, most of which happened gradually, though looking back at where she was 4 years ago and … Read more
This one is a tough one for me to write, but after a little incident we had tonight, I realized that I need to be writing about this aspect of my life because as tricky of a subject as it might be, it’s part of who our family is. My Gram, who lives with us, … Read more