Category Archives: Joy Loverde

Mealtime, Loneliness, and Thoughts to Chew On

by Joy Loverde Picturing myself on any given evening, sitting at a restaurant table alone surrounded by diners who are engrossed with each other and their meals instantly surfaces deep sadness and thoughts of being forgotten. On the other hand I have friends who love to eat alone. Go to movies alone. Do almost everything…

Below is a compilation of posts Joy Loverde’s 2015 year in review from the EldercareABCBlog. If you missed them the first time, be sure to go back and catch up via her wisdom and great outlook on life and excellent caregiving support. Joy started the year out with a post about risk taking. It’s 2015.…

Grandparents with Dementia: Take Charge

By Joy Loverde Day One the test results are back and confirm that you have Alzheimer’s disease. What are your plans for Day Two? Stay in bed, pull the covers over the eyes and cry like there’s no tomorrow? Yet, there is a tomorrow. And many tomorrows after that. If you do not take charge…

Creativity, Eldercare, and Caregiving: Are they related?

by Joy Loverde What I wish I knew about caregiving early on is that the 24/7 ongoing responsibilities never let up. If you’re a caregiver, you’ve also learned a thing or two. Imagine you could go back in time and give your younger caregiver self a bit of advice on the caregiving and eldercare process.…

How’s the water?

by Joy Loverde Sometimes (most times) we are the last one to know if life is out of balance. We are in so deep (like the goldfish in the photo) that we have no clue where we are deep in the scheme of things. Everybody – at home and at work -- tugs at our…

Think Outside the Lines

When roller blades came into the scene decades ago, I was in heaven. I grew up on roller skates. Today, roller blading on the Chicago lake front is a dream come true. Same thing is happening again, only this time it’s the adult coloring book and adult sticker book craze. Several weeks ago, I bought…

The Caregiver’s Journey

by Joy Loverde No one leaves the caregiving experience the same as when they started, nor do they look at life, and death the way they did before. These words originate from the Introduction to my book, The Complete Eldercare Planner, and were written in the hopes that family members will continuously find…

Alzheimer’s Culture Change: Coming to a city near you

by Joy Loverde Nothing changes the game of life faster than the onset of dementia. Upon diagnosis, family caregivers regroup and redirect long-term care plans. Others may worry about passing on the Alzheimer’s gene to next of kin. Sadly, others start treating people differently and in many cases choose to no longer associate with them…

Moving a Reluctant Parent: The End (Part 19)

By Joy Loverde If you’ve been tracking my blog series on the topic of moving a reluctant parent (Parts 1-18), you know that the mission is accomplished. My last blog recaps the insanity of dealing with my Aunt and her reluctance to move. Every step of the way was an eldercare crisis in the making.…

Age of Disruption Tour: A Commercial

By Joy Loverde What if nearly everything we know about aging is wrong? On his 30-city tour, Dr. Bill Thomas encourages audiences of all ages to turn the tables on “Life’s Most Dangerous Game” and approach aging with the skill and enthusiasm it requires. I attended Dr. Thomas’ Age of Disruption event last week and…