Despite our disappointments, struggles, and unknowns, we must cling to hope - for renewal, rebirth, and regrowth.  This season brings hope as we witness new blossoms, trees budding and renewed faith.  Caregivers need to above all, cling to their hope that this journey you are on will bring new blessings, opportunities for personal growth, and strength to carry on your important work.

Caring for a close family member friend can be emotionally overwhelming.  While many caregivers find fulfillment in helping another person, along with this comes feelings of loss, anger,  grief, and guilt.  Caregivers struggle with depression and anxiety at a much higher rate than the general population.  Counseling can be very beneficial for helping people with what is called caregiver burnout.

Anticipatory grief refers to a grief reaction that occurs before an impending loss. Typically, the impending loss is a death of someone close due to illness but it can also be experienced by dying individuals themselves.

The number of older people is rising dramatically, particularly those in the 85 years and above age group.  Because the likelihood of developing dementia increases with age, reaching a one in 3 chance by the time a person reaches 85, we must turn our attention to eldercare, age-friendly initiatives to be that of dementia-friendly initiatives.  Let's look at what research tells us about how our neighborhoods can be transformed to age-friendly, dementia-friendly places for people to live as they grow older.

Want to connect with your grandmother or grandfather but can’t go the miles to see them and don’t know what to say over the phone?

I was privileged to speak yesterday to the Dallas Area Parkinson's Society (DAPS)  about how care partners can embrace wellness and joy.  For persons living with Parkinson's Disease and other neurological conditions, finding wellness and joy in everyday life can be challenging and elusive at best.  I know this first-hand, as my mother lived with Parkinson's Disease (PD).  Speaking from experience as her partner in this journey, my words of wisdom for embracing wellness and joy encompassed some simple steps.

What is a harder conversation topic with elderly parents - money or death?  If you guessed death, you get a gold star.  Why do we find it so very difficult to discuss the inevitable?  Surely we've all come to grips with the fact there is one thing certain about life and that is death.  We can embrace the ending by learning to embrace the life that we still have with our loved ones until the times comes when they are no longer with us.