Serving Seniors Blog: June 23, 2010
Happy Summer and welcome to Serving Seniors’ blog. My goal is to share with you the latest news in caring for seniors plus my insights from many years of helping people navigate the rough waters of caring for their elderly parents or loved ones. It’s been a while since I’ve written here and it’s great talking to you again. I’ll be updating my blog weekly, so I won’t make you wait this long for my next post. I’ve also been dealing with lots of positive changes at Serving Seniors with new professionals on board to help us care even better for your loved ones.
Father’s Day has come and gone and it reminded me of how many people are caring for their elderly fathers or mothers.
Most of us prepare for big moments in our family members' lives - the birth of a child, graduations, weddings. But, we really don’t prepare at all for the really big moment of taking care of our parents when they become elderly and in need of help. Many times we try to take care of them ourselves only to find out that we’re really not qualified. Couple that with unresolved issues with your siblings, siblings who don’t get involved, or geographical distance between you and your parents. I personally struggled with my own brother when it came to care for my mom. I resented for a long time my brother's lack of involvement in my mother's care and his infrequent visits.
Gail Sheehy is a best-selling author of 16 books and she’s changed the way millions of women and men around the world look at the stages of their lives. Gail also speaks highly of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (PGCM’s) on talk shows nationwide. I love that, and I’m proud to say that Serving Seniors has been recognized as one of the Top 20 Certified Geriatric Care Managers in the USA as recognized by the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers.
In 2010 Gail takes on the most challenging and personal issue in her latest book: Passages in Caregiving: Turning Chaos Into Confidence. She tells the inspiring story of her own journey of 17 years caring for her husband. She fills the book with stories of families that we can all relate to and their most creative strategies. She says it perfectly, “I had nine months to prepare for the birth of my child, I had nine hours to prepare to care for my husband. “
I’d highly recommend you read her book. I’m sure it’s full of life-changing events that can help you in your situation.
I hope you find our posts helpful as you consider all of the options of caring for your seniors and other loved ones. Please feel free to share your own experiences and write your comments below. We value your input and so do our readers.
Thank you for your interest in Serving Seniors and our professional geriatric care management services.
Talk to you soon and thanks again!
Diane Hischke