Caregiving

Every spring in Japan, I am reminded of the cycle of life through nature’s gift of the cherry tree. Its blossoms are glorious in their ultimate radiant pinks and whites with their fluffy-looking texture. But I especially enjoy the way we can watch them “come out and emerge” – first the small, reddish-green buds on…

Managing Health and Stress Brings Long Term Benefits for Both Caregivers and Care Recipients. As part of writing my book, I’ve been trying to sort through the different caregiving scenarios I’ve experienced in my life – with my great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, friends – as well as the scenarios that I’ve heard about…

One of the things I do to honor my Mom’s passing (and honestly, to bring myself emotional comfort as well) is to bring some of her ashes with me on most of my travels. My goal over the past 8 years since she passed has been to sprinkle her ashes in meaningful spots around the…

Lots of crazy things happened while I was caring for my Mom – some of them really, really good, and some of them not so good at all. Words were said that can never be taken back. But through it all, my sisters and I are agreed that “we lived her dying just as we…

I admit it. I hid the bell. I deep-sixed it in a basket full of towels way in the back of the closet in the guest bedroom, where I knew my mother couldn’t go to look for it, since it was far more than 20 steps from her deathbed. It was a little brass bell…