If you developed symptoms such as poor sleep, changed appetite, or more serious conditions, you’re not alone. According to The Executive Summary: Caregiving In The US 17%-35% of caregivers report poorer health.
Caregiving creeps. At first it’s the occasional errand. Then it’s dealing with financial matters. Other senior caregiving issues pile on; unpaid bills, medications ignored, and inaccurate reports about doctor appointments. You find that you’re monitoring medications, and accompanying your senior to the doctor. All the while, there are other parts of your life; your spouse and children, your job and home. Trying to do all these tasks as a caregiver while also keeping up with your own life becomes a monumental job! Something has to give. Where are you in all these duties? Many caregivers believe they can take care of themselves “when they have time”. Caution: caregiving you have no more time. Self care is vital to preserving yourself, your family, your job, and your sanity. Senior Sidekicks’ course; Preparing to Parent Your Parent explains why caregivers need to do self-care. Senior Sidekicks knows how busy you are. This course is convenient; delivered to your area: your church. We offer it at convenient times; evenings, weekends, or lunch hours. You receive 5 classes and a manual for one low price. If you bring your significant other, they pay half price. Call Senior Sidekicks today to learn more. 217-787-5866.
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We have seen how caregiving creeps until it fills one’s daily life and affects one’s job. What about the people in your immediate family? Do your children behave differently? Are they withdrawn or act out? Have you received school reports about problems? We expect sibling rivalry when a new baby comes home. What if the one who demands the parent’s attention is not a baby; it’s Grandma? That’s not what most caregivers anticipate. Yet, a distracted parent is still a distracted parent.
What about your spouse? The marriage vows cover sickness and health, richer or poorer. They don’t include vows to care for your parent and mine. Perhaps we should add new vows should since caregiving now involves 43.5 million people; according to Caregiver.org/Statistics and demographics. That number will continue to climb! Most couples haven’t considered caregiving the same way they considered where they would live or how many children to have. Yet, caregiving affects many households as well as individual caregivers. Isn’t it time to address caregiving together, just as couples do with other life decisions? Senior Sidekicks’ course, Preparing to Parent Your Parent, is designed to get spouses into working with each other. Those who enroll can bring the spouse at half price. Together, you will learn about handling various parts of caregiving and compile a manual for future reference. You can arrange the course for a location near you; like your church. Senior Sidekicks will deliver the course at times convenient for both of you; evenings, weekends, lunch hours, or days. Call us today at 217-787-5866. While standing in a checkout line, I struck up a conversation with an elder. He said his house was too big but wouldn’t move because he would need to downsize first. The elder said that he had decided not to clean out, instead, to leave it for his kids. Really! That’s an unwise choice for many reasons:
“I lost so much time from my family”. “It cost me my job (or promotion)”. “I had to stop my education and it was harder to go back”. “I felt so alone, like my parents had abandoned me to this task”. “I felt overwhelmed”. “I developed high blood pressure”. “My sibs and I fought about sharing the work, it’s still hurts”. So, what will be your legacy to your children? |
Author "A Senior Moment" is written by Ms. Sara Lieber, owner of Senior Sidekicks. Ms. Lieber has over 30 years of experience in senior care. Archives
March 2024
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