National Caregivers Month

November 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

It is National Caregivers Month in November. So what are you going to do locally? If you ever stood in the caregivers shoes, you’d know it’s a lonely, depressing, nothing to look forward to, and your friends usually leave one by one.

My book Behind The Mask is my secret journal I wrote during the time I was a caregiver. I smiled on the outside and wrote out all my thoughts, emotions in the journal.

All it takes is to be a friend to a caregiver. You know there is one in your neighborhood. Or where you work or go to school, play golf, Mah Jongg, anywhere the same people get together is a community.

Send an email, be a friend, do not judge, ask questions, make them feel comfortable and let them vent. Usually they have no one to talk to. As for support groups, they are great…for some people. My husband wouldn’t go, he said that he didn’t want to see what was coming down the road for him.

All I’m asking is put yourself in their shoes. Then Adopt A Caregiver.

Keep love and kisses in your life Helene

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Support Caregivers

November 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

November is National Caregivers Month. Support your community. Find a caregiver and offer to email or call them. Offer to arrange a lunch for them. Offer your shoulder to cry on, to help carry the load of the world that’s on their shoulders. Encourage them to tell their story. Either in written form, or on line. There are many sites for caregivers to tell their stories.

It only takes a couple of minutes to form a friendship with an email. Particularly in your own neighborhood. Someone knows a caregiver.

Give the gift that lasts forever and costs nothing. Adopt A Caregiver.

Keep love and kisses in your life. Helene

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Adopt A Caregiver

October 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

It’s been a long time since I have talked about Adopt A Caregiver. To all those new to my blog, please know this is my way of giving back.

I have stood in the shoes of caregiver, (for seven years) and I know what it feels like For me, it might have been a little bit more difficult because we were strongly advised to keep the Alzheimer’s Diagnosis a secret.

To smile, to stay sane, to face the challenges, the fear, and the anger, I started a secret journal on my computer. I poured myself into it, all my emotions, my fears, and yes, my tears.

Seven long hard years later, the diagnosis was changed to AAMI (Age Associated Memory Impairment) and we resumed life.

In 2008 I published my journal as Behind The Mask. Basically, to show caregivers that they are not alone in their feelings. But also, so that others could understand what the caregiver was going through.

Thus, Adopt A Caregiver was born. I would love for everyone to look around their community and find a caregiver. Adopt his/her. Just send an email and ask to be their friend. Do not judge, let them vent, let them talk, just be there. You have no idea how much this will fulfill your life. Try it.

Adopt A Caregiver. Give the gift that lasts forever and costs nothing.

Then let me know how it feels.

www.adoptacaregiver.org

Keep love and kisses in your life. Helene

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Support Caregivers

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

One day you might be a caregiver yourself. Support caregivers, treat them like you yourself would like to be treated.

Caregivers are working 24/7. They are lonely, exhausted, too tired to go out to support groups, and remember support groups are not for everyone.

You need to look around your community, surely there is a caregiver there. All it takes is an email to start a friendship.

Give the gift that lasts forever and costs nothing.

Adopt A Caregiver and tell them your friend Helene sent you.

Keep love and kisses in your life.

Visit www.adoptacaregiver.com

Read Behind The Mask, a secret journal, to know how one caregiver felt. Me!

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Tomorrow Is September 11th

September 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Let us remember tomorrow with reverence. For those who died, and for all those who fought so valiantly to save lives, I thank you. I hope America thanks you.

To those who lost loved ones, I’m so sorry. I hope there is a measure of comfort in your days now and that you have found meaning in your life.

These are hardships. Not the petty little things in everyday life that make you miserable, but mean nothing in the long run.

Remember. Never forget.

Also, try to remember the caregivers, who work everyday, 24/7 to help care for a loved one. It’s not easy, it’s not rewarding, it’s not fun. Life isn’t your own and until you stand in their shoes you don’t know how the caregivers feel. Their emotions, their thoughts.

Visit  www.adoptacaregiver.org  and read Behind The Mask. Stand in a caregivers shoes for a little while, and then be inspired to go out and find a caregiver in your community and send them an email.

Adopt A Caregiver. Give the gift that lasts forever, and costs nothing.

Keep love and kisses in your life. Helene

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The Power Of One

August 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Who says one person can’t make a difference? People who don’t believe in themselves, or don’t believe in a cause, maybe they don’t think one person can make a difference.

I believe one person can make a heck of a difference. I’m trying to make a difference in caregiver’s lives. In my heart I know I can do it. Even if it’s only one person at a time. How? Mostly by compassion, by standing in a caregivers shoes for a little while, think what they are going through, and who is helping them?

You can help, you can make a difference, all you have to do is be a caregivers friend. There are caregivers in every community, where you live, work, play, go to school, church or synagogue. Listen, don’t judge, send an email offer to be a friend, stay in touch and most of all give them a lift to their day.

Yes, I believe one person can make a difference I can make a difference, and you surely can make a difference. Try it.

Give the gift that lasts forever and costs nothing. Adopt A Caregiver and tell them your friend Helene sent you.

The power of one in within you, me, all of us. Use it.

Keep love and kisses in your life. Helene

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Computer Problems

August 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Wow, you never realize how much you miss your computer until you can’t use it. My husband has several viruses on his, and we are trying to work it out. In the meantime, I have lost all my passwords, and my computer sometimes is very slow. Other times it’s fine.

We have had quite a week with our cars. We have to get registered in California, so we tried for a smog test, my car didn’t make it. I think they put the wrong VIN number in the computer. Howard took it to the dealer today and they had no problem. Tomorrow he will go to AAA and get the titles registered.

Then we have to study for the driving test. I’m not worried about driving, or eye test, but I freeze when I take a written test. Crazy, but true. I have never had a ticket or an accident, thank goodness and I’ve been driving for 62 years. Knock wood and thank God.

I started knitting for my first great grand child and I made a block. It doesn’t look like a block to me, but I’m sure when it’s folded correctly it will hopefully look like one.

I want to go to the knitting store on Wednesday and buy some nice yarn and make something special for this precious little girl named Madison.

I’ve been trying to email all my caregivers, but the cars and the computer have played havoc with me all week. So hopefully by the week end I will have written to them all. I enjoy writing to them.

If you have a caregiver in your community, give the gift that lasts forever and costs nothing. Adopt A Cargiver and tell them your friend Helene sent you.

Keep love and kisses in your life. Helene

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Make Happy Memories

August 9, 2009 By 1 Comment

I try to make every day a good day. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Even if it’s one thing I do that pleases me, it is a good day. I feel so blessed to be around my family again. But, as we, my husband and I get older there are more decisions to make, more time spent doing the little things that need to be done. Things that used to take us no time to do, are now time consuming.

I am thinking of going back to writing my memoirs again. I have started them two or three times already, and somehow never finished it, or put together what I do have. I have looked back on my life and realize I have done things most people never even dream of doing. Yet, I feel that my life has been very ordinary.

Which means, I think everyone has a story to tell. I want to tell mine so that family and friends can stand in my shoes for a little while and understand the choices I have made over the years.

Everyone’s life has ups and downs, and yes, all the cliches are true. I will tell most of my story in short scenes or anectdotes and hope it will answer any questions about me that my readers (family and friends) have.

Even when I was a caregiver for those seven years I wrote about in my book, Behind The Mask, I was making happy memories to store up and keep for myself. The new book about my life, will make happy memories for those reading it. I hope.

Support caregivers in your community. Adopt A Caregiver and tell them your friend Helene sent you.

Keep love and kisses in your life. Helene

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Community

August 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

What is a community? To me, a community is where you live, work, go to school, play golf, Mah Jongg, belong to a temple or church, anywhere you congregate regularly with the same people is a community.

And in your community there are caregivers. Think about caregivers; unless you can stand in a caregivers shoes you have no idea what they are going through. Their emotions, thoughts, actions might not be why you think.

My book, Behind The Mask was written as a secret journal that no one was supposed to read. When the doctors changed my husbands diagnosis I showed him my journal and he said to publish it, that it might help someone. I hope by standing in my shoes for a few short hours you will  have a better understanding of ‘standing in the caregivers shoes’.

The outcome of the book is that I started www.Adopt A Caregiver.org

Give the gift that lasts forever and costs nothing. Adopt A Caregiver and tell them your friend Helene sent you.

Keep love and kisses in your life. Helene

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A Delightful R&R Day

August 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Received a phone call from my granddaughter, “Mom and I are going out to breakfast, do you and Pop Pop want to come?” Of course we wanted to join them and we did. What a wonderful way to start our day.

After that I got a manicure, we did some errands at Coscto and Ralphs and the cleaners, and came home and put everything away.

Then I read. I read for hours. I am loving this book. I think each character could have his own book. It’s Penny Vincenzi’s new book and I don’t want to stop reading it. My eyes are tired, so I will stop and watch tv. with my hubby.

I’m still thinking about that lady I wrote about several days ago. Sorry I didn’t make time to stop and talk to her. I won’t make that mistake again. It’s just that everyone was waiting for me for lunch, but that is no excuse. I feel for her, being all alone, hardly able to walk, going into a store and then a restaurant. At least that is all I saw. But I wonder if anyone would be around to take her home. I hated the idea that she was all alone.

That’s how caregivers feel: all alone. If there is a caregiver in your community, email them, become a friend, keep in contact. Give the gift that lasts forever and costs nothing. Friendship.

Adopt A Caregiver and tell them your friend Helene sent you.

Keep love and kisses in your life. Helene

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