It's hard to believe that I've not had my dad in my life for over 20 years now.  So much of who I am and what I've taught to my children came from my dad.  So, it's appropriate that this blog be a tribute to my dad this Father's Day.

It is a rare occasion when either speaking to or meeting with family caregivers that I do not have tucked away this invaluable list of signs and symptoms of caregiver burnout to share with them before I leave.    My advice to caregivers is to print this list out and place in a plastic sleeve and tape it to your bathroom mirror.  Every single day you should be aware of these signs - often that creep in slowly- and zap our ability to cope, quickly leading to caregiver burnout.

It's no secret that families tend to shy away from the topics of money and death more often than not.  The fact, however, is that caregiving decisions often revolve around money, as care options will vary greatly depending on one's assets.  So money plays a very important role in the choices that are made and discussions that take place between family members.

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.

Is it any wonder that upwards of 25% of caregivers suffer from self-induced stress over the holiday season?  I was not at all surprised by  that statistic, and actually I believe it is probably higher.  Then I read that 65% of stress is due to family and in-laws!  That puts a whole new twist on WHY caregivers by and large are at great risk of stress related emotional, physical and spiritual breakdown that starts in November and last for at least 2 months!

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.