Elder Care ABC Created by caregivers for caregivers

by Mary Beth Sammons
I had thought I had heard it all about the war on the frontlines of senior care. But, what makes life so exciting is that just when you think you’ve got it down, you are suddenly surprised by humans and their unpredictable nature.
In order to understand this story, I suggest all of [...]

Sometimes in the caregiving for our elderly parents, we can get bogged down in the details and forget the essence of what caring for another is all about. I know I do. My Outlook calendar often looks like this: Tuesday- Mom’s knee doctor; Thursday: mom’s heart doctor and breakfast with mom and her friends; [...]

Here’s an idea for living well on the caregiving front: don’t let the mundane get in the way of laughing and having fun on the journey.
Yep, laugh, and have a sense of humor about it all.
Really? Yes.
How do I know this? Because the other day, in the midst of describing my disappearance from the landscape [...]

This morning, I went for the 5 a.m. run with my group of girlfriends who have become my lifeline and support crew during the last several years when I have been called on to care for my mother and father.
Right before leaving, I posted a daily inspiration on Facebook. I am a creature of habit [...]

“What goes around comes around,” are words my grandmother, Bridget, always instilled in me. Now, that I find myself sandwiched in-between caring for my elderly mother and my children, I find these words to be especially true. They remind me, on days when I think it would be easier to not respond, or embark on [...]

It’s no secret that aging makes us, and especially seniors more vulnerable. But, I smiled to hear about a new trend that’s sure to make aggressors who take on the elderly as targets back off, at least a little.

It’s called “Cane-Fu” and apparently it’s catching on across the country, poking at the theory that vulnerability [...]

From 4:30 to 9 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the last 10 years, 79-year-old Konrad Bald has walked the line at Buehler YMCA in Palatine.
He makes his way through the sweating masses, greeting everyone by name. The retired labor-relations executive and the “Y’s” longest-standing part-time employee offers just the right words, spoken at [...]

Recently I found myself reuniting with a group of “soccer moms,” friends who spent years of summer evenings and weekends standing (or sitting) side-by-side at the soccer field watching our sons on the playing field.  Now, that the boys are three years into college, it’s been several years since we’ve come together to connect and [...]