Signs of Power in Paid Caregiving – And I Don’t Like Them
A couple of days ago, I was wandering around my local grocery store when I happened to notice a young man in a wheelchair. He was smiling and chatting with…
Donna Thomson
The ABCDs of Including (Not Excluding!) Caregivers in Community Life
John McKnight is a social design visionary who understands that everyone has a role to play in enabling healthy, inclusive communities. He founded the Asset Based CommunityDevelopment Institute, or ABCD.…
Six Ways Communities Can Help Caregivers
Local communities are great places to look for help and support for your caregiving family. It’s worth doing a search of your neighborhood – you’re likely to find community assets…
From the Treasure Chest – How to Live Without Irony: Just Ask a Caregiver
VS A day or two ago, I was driving along the highway enroute to visit Nicholas, my young man who lives in a truly cozy and pleasant care home. Nick…
Caregiving With Strength – A Guidebook for Grieving Caregivers
Eleanor Silverberg understands grief. She is a child of holocaust survivors who often witnessed her mother silently weeping. An unspoken sorrow infused the Silverberg family home…..grief seeped into their furniture,…
What Next! What Best Laid Plans Fall Through
Sometimes, even the best laid plans fall apart. And life feels very, very unfair. Every caregiver has a story about a high school reunion or an anniversary dinner that had…
When Giving Up Your Privacy is Part of the Job Description
Caregivers have very little privacy. We leave the bathroom door open so we can hear our loved ones if they call. The clinic calls just as we’ve poured our tea…
Want to Be Included in Your Loved One’s Home Care Team? Here’s How
I spend a lot of time reading about how families manage caring for loved ones all over the world. Today, developed nations share common challenges – aging populations, more people…
Never Feel Alone Again
GUEST POST My parents turned 70 a few years ago. It was a wonderful celebration full of friends, laughter, food, and dancing the night away. I must admit even I,…
What It Means to be a Mother… and a Daughter
Recently, I was chatting with my friend and fellow disability Mom, Julie Keon. I had the privilege of writing the foreword to Julie’s profoundly moving new book, What I Would…
How To Stay Positive
GUEST POST by a Staff Writer at Dry Depot Being a caregiver is a difficult task and many of us will face extreme physical and emotional challenges as we care…
Five Bad Beliefs That Harm Caregivers
Caregiving is a complicated role, full of joy and sometimes grief and frustration. Caring for those we love is laden with human drama and is hard enough without imposing beliefs…
Not Exactly As Planned – A Must Read Book About Family and Disability
It was months ago that I added to my reading list ‘Not Exactly As Planned: A Memoir of Adoption, Secrets and Abiding Love’ by Linda Rosenbaum. But it was just…
News Alert! 3 Great New Films About Caregiving!
This week, I’ve watched trailers for three terrific new films about caregiving. I hope these are just the beginning of a new trend in movies and story-telling about giving and…
Turn Up the Music and Dance – Anytime, Anywhere!
Last week, I turned 60. I took advantage of the occasion to invite friends and family over for, what else?, a dance party! Over my years of caregiving, I have…
WHAT IS A SUPPORT NETWORK AND WHAT WILL IT DO FOR ME?
I wrote this for an audience of adults with disabilities who want to get started using a tech tool to coordinate the help of friends and family in a circle…
Re-Imagining Care at Home
Last night, Jim went over to Nick’s to watch the hockey game, leaving me free to watch my choice of television shows with dinner on my lap. I went straight…
National Community Care Insurance: What’s New in Canada
According to the 2014 Global Age Watch Index, Norway is the best country to be a senior citizen or person with disabilities. Apart from Japan (9), all the top 10…
The Lies I Tell
This video got me thinking about how I have lied to my loved ones. I lied to Nicholas when I said it would be alright after his hip surgery (the…
Something From the Heart – National Caregiver Day, 2015
I know that I promised my next blog post would be about private and national care insurance plans, but to be honest, that was before I remembered that National Caregiver…