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Family Caregiver (12)

Please Don't Forget the Hot Fudge Sundae... and other Dining Tips

As my mother's Parkinson's Disease progressed,  it was very apparent that food and the mealtime experience became more important to her.  So much so, that I remember saying "Mom's still finds joy in yummy food".  That said, her "yummy" was not always the healthiest, but we wanted her to be happy.  We knew that healthy foods were important, but probably not as important  as the joy of witnessing her with excitement dig in to a chocolate fudge sundae with extra whipped cream.  Now THAT was a  quality dining experience!

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How Can we Avoid and All-Out Family Feud over Mom's Teapot?

I was very fortunate, for  when my sweet mom passed, no one else asked for "the teapot".  It wasn't particularly pretty, and certainly of no monetary value.  But to me it was priceless reminder of the tender moments we had together to talk about an endless number of topics that mothers and daughters share. Often accompanied by a scrumptious homemade sweet, we always had back-up favorites in the freezer so we were never without an accompaniment for our favorite Bigelows "Constant Comment".   When we weren't chatting and sipping, we would often play a quick game of Yahtzee, Gin Rummy or in latter years, our absolute favorite go- to game,   Rumikub.

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How Can We Embrace the Fact that Death is a Part of Life?

We all know that the only thing certain about our life is that someday it will end.  And yet death continues to be an elusive topic in most families and social circles.  Someone recently shared with me that she felt if she brought up the topic with her parents,  they might feel like she wanted to hurry things along.

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Why are my parents suddenly so stubborn?

The Big "S" word.  It comes up more often than you would think and for good reason.  Adult children who are in any phase of caregiving for their parents, even in the very beginning stages share their frustrations of their parents suddenly being stubborn.   Why is this happening?

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Can we rebuild the brain? Neuroplasticity and Brain/Body Fitness

(Society for Neuroscience) The discovery that the human brain can produce new cells in adulthood offers just one example of how adaptable the brain is throughout life. With this knowledge, researchers are investigating how normal aging as well as neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease affect that adaptability, and how we can maintain healthy brain function as our brains age.  So what is neuroplasticity?

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