Category Archives: caregiving

Your Caregiving Sister

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Barbara McAfee

Just this morning, I was thinking about my cousin Lynne. My aunt – her mother – died last week after more than seven years of Alzheimer’s. Lynne has been there every step of the way. Her mother was housed in … Continue reading →

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Wheels

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Barbara McAfee

Today my brother and sister-in-law are picking up Mom’s car. They will clean it up and sell it in the coming weeks.  I don’t know why this is making me so tender, but it is. Mom hasn’t driven her 2001 … Continue reading →

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Calamity Management

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Barbara McAfee

I’ve entered into a new phase of caregiving with my sweet 94-year-old mama. I’m calling it calamity management. Her memory is faltering more and more these days, so I’m trying to remember what I’m forgetting she forgot. Or something like … Continue reading →

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She Will Take It All With Her

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Barbara McAfee

  When an old person dies, a library burns.     African proverb Mom is turning 94 in a few days. She is still kind and funny and self-aware. Her memory, though, is developing gaps. As I watch her struggling … Continue reading →

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You Can’t Imagine

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Barbara McAfee

My 93-year-old mom has been going through a rough patch these past weeks. So have I. I’m her number one caregiver – or as she recently put it, “her best help and her best friend.” In the past year or … Continue reading →

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This Is When I Think of You – A Meditation for Fellow Caregivers

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Barbara McAfee

Yes, you. My fellow caregiver. I think of you most often as I walk out of Mom’s senior living place. Perhaps it is 9:45 p.m. on a frigid winter night. I worked all day and then drove the half-hour journey … Continue reading →

Posted in caregiving, death and dying, hospice | Tagged , , | 4 Comments