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Solitaire Showdown: March 23, 2009

Tell Us; What Can't You Forgive?

This picture was ...
This picture was taken in December of 1966, in Big Trees National Park, CA.  I was 8 years old, my brother was 14 and my sister 10.  The pretty lady holding the leash to our dog Red is my beautiful Mother Virginia.  In this picture my mom was 40 years old, younger than I am now. Today my mom celebrated her 83rd birthday.  My mom has suffered several strokes so she is partially paralyzed on her right side, but she is still able to do most things for herself.  My mom is beautiful, smart and funny. 

The Impact Caregiving Had on Me
(Editor’s Note: This is the second of a three-part series written by John Mills, who we call a Godspeed Caregiver. In this series, John Mills discusses caring for his father and his decision after his role ended to launch a business, eCare Diary, to help family caregivers.) Being a caregiver has been a life changing experience and a fulfilling one in so many ways. It strengthened the bond between my father and me. It opened my eyes to the confusing and antiquated world of long te

Thanksgiving
We had a great Thanksgiving service in our church Thanksgiving morning. There was lots of sharing of things people were thankful for via power point. (things people had submitted in written form earlier.) There were also some people who stood up and gave verbal thanks. It was a very moving service. Then we went to our son and daughter-in-law’s house for the afternoon. Some years we travel for Thanksgiving, but this year we stayed close to home. This son of ours family lives only a couple miles away from us. So at our Thanksgiving gathering there was my husband, Wayne; me; my son; his wife; their 4 kids; and another family that they had invited. It was a great day!

What Makes a Caregiving Day “Good”?
Today, on Table Talk, we gave thought to what makes a good caregiving day. I came up with a list 12 ways a caregiving day can be good; I’m included five of the 12 here. To hear the additional seven, listen to the show via the player at the bottom of the post. (Be sure also to  listen to Wednesday’s Book Club discussion; the author of “A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription For Happiness” told us to exercise our happiness muscle.) A good caregiving day is: 1.When you have the patience that’s needed—patience with your care recipient, your family, yoursel

Memories Come Alive on Thanksgiving for Us
Hi, I felt we had a T-Day experience yesterday that fits the bill well.  My mom’s house is like a waystation for the Holidays, with us and then cousins and other relatives coming and going and telephoning.  Well in the evening, before I was getting ready to leave, I remembered that I’d had it in my mind this past week to ask my mom where she’d ended up storing the “Memories” videocassette that I had made up 12 years ago, for her and my late dad’s golden wedding anniversary, culled from a bunch of old Kodak home movie tapes that I’d discovered in one of their kitchen drawers in 1997.  I recall we&