National Family Caregivers Month and 'Doing The Right Thing'

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November is Family Caregivers Month, which recognizes the challenging work of the more than 65 million people—29 percent of the U.S. population—who provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend (according to National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP). More importantly, the campaign stresses the need for those around the caregiver to offer support... and breaks from the job, when possible.

I am not a caregiver. I'm fortunate in that my own mother fares well on her own at this point and doesn't require care. My mother-in-law does, though. Professionals in the nursing home where she resides provide her primary care. Jim's sister Sue, who lives near the home, tirelessly offers Mom the nearly daily love, care, and attention only a family member can provide—despite Sue having a full-time job and busy life of her own, needs of her own.

family caregiver

Sue is, without doubt, the hero of...

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Musing elsewhere: Thoughts on my daughter's miscarriage (PurpleClover.com)

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Thoughts on my daughter's miscarriage

Published October 18, 2015 on PurpleClover.com

purpleclover.com

My daughter lost her baby last week. A miscarriage in the first trimester.

Coming from an abundantly fertile family, it's hard to wrap my head around that. My mom had seven children. Three of my sisters had several children, and a number of those kids had kids. I had three children myself, and my middle child had three children, too.

All of us had no problem. Yet it's a problem for my oldest child, Brianna.

"Problem" doesn't come close to accurately describing the fertility challenge for my daughter. A dead baby is far more than a problem. It's a painful, traumatic, inexplicable loss.

My 33-year-old daughter, who learned just this past year that her chances for conceiving and delivering a child are sadly...

Click to continue reading on PurpleClover.com...

Rest in peace, Grandma Nina

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It's with a very heavy heart that I share the passing of one of the first grandma bloggers I met online, soon after I began blogging in 2009.

Nina Knox was one of my first Grilled Grandmas. She was the consummate grandma, filled with grace and love. We shared blogging stories, tips, and ideas for quite some time, but in the past few years our connection faded. We were in some of the same blogging groups together, but never close.

I knew from being in a shared Facebook group that Nina unexpectedly became quite ill when visiting Hawaii in May. She was hospitalized for quite some time, seemed to improve...

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Here and now: August 20, 2015

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In my world...

clock and book

On my mind...

On NBC News Tuesday night, there was a report of an unscrupulous doctor who had been egregiously knowingly misdiagnosing patients with MS. Such a horrible thing to do. I have MS. BUT, though his actions are unconscionable, that's not what most stuck with me after viewing the report. What did stick with me was a comment from one of the women incorrectly diagnosed. She stated that...

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8 reasons grandparents should not resist a rest

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8 reasons grandparents should not resist a rest

Once you're old enough to be a grandparent, a good night's sleep is hard to come by. Chalk it up to hormones, hot flashes, medications, and more. Considering the causes can be exhausting in itself.

Despite our continual quest to quench our desire for downtime, we grandparents often flat-out refuse to rest our weary heads when we're with our grandchildren. Whether it's because we feel guilty or we simply want to "get stuff done," resisting a rest can be detrimental to our health and happiness. Detrimental to the health and happiness of our grandchildren, too—especially when they're in our care.

Here's why:

sleeping woman and dog 

NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP...

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Here and now: April 23, 2015

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My life, here and now...

here and now 

On my mind...

Calming thoughts and uplifting songs that will (I hope) keep me calm and far from freakout mode when I undergo another MRI on my brain this morning. I swear, the more MRIs I...

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