Caregiving Advice

  One thing can be said with absolute certainty: this year has put us all through the wringer. From the lowest of lows to the (hopefully in there somewhere) happiest of happy moments, 2020 has been moody. And this collection of playlists is here for every mood. Feeling angry at the world? Feeling like you’re on cloud nine? Feeling like you just want to snuggle up and forget your worries? We’ve got a playlist for that. So let’s start our year-in-review of playlists with the way this year started. It’s New Year's Day, you’ve welcomed in the new decade, and you’re feeling great. On top of the world. Here are our favorite songs to listen to when we’re in a good mood. That dance-down-the-street, “life is good” types of songs: Suddenly, the news is on constantly, there’s no toilet paper, and the world shuts down. Everyone is in a bad mood. When angst and germs fill the air, bad mood songs make their comeback. Check out our angsty, loud, angry playlist for that down-in-the-dumps kind of d...

  Today’s reflection on past, present, and future comes from Latia Johnson, our team’s caregiving tech expert, and an experienced family caregiver. Christmas has come and gone. And 2020 was a very interesting rollercoaster ride of a year. Now we are quietly—and maybe cautiously— anticipating the turn of the calendar to a brand new year: 2021. The COVID pandemic challenged everyone to search within themselves, and to experience many emotions—sometimes multiple ones—within minutes.  However, what took us all by surprise was the abrupt stop of human interaction with the ones we love, and the increase of care we provided as caregivers.  Whatever the challenges you faced as a caregiver in 2020, know you are loved for the selfless care you provided.  Latia Johnson This year has tested us as caregivers in ways we weren’t expecting. Maybe you cared for one family member, and now, you are caring for multiple people because of the pandemic. Maybe the person you cared...

In the summer of 2019, we kicked off our very first ABCs of Caregiving campaign on social media. It was so popular we brought it back for another season, and we love hearing the ways each letter and lesson resonate with you. Here, we’ve compiled the caregiving lessons from letters N through Z. Credit for these reflections goes to Eliza Brown and Latia Johnson (letter Q) . N is for Nuisance Some of the things we have to do as caregivers are just nuisance. Scheduling appointments. Picking up prescriptions. Making meals. Keeping the house clean. Paying bills. The list of nuisances seems to be ever-growing. Those everyday things that have to be done can sometimes feel like more of a task than the actual caregiving! But if you think about it, even those small, in-between things are powerful in caring for someone. Stop doing just one nagging little task, and the fallout could be monumental. O is for Open A piece of advice I’d give to caregivers in all stages is this: be open to change. It’s ...

  When we’re feeling overwhelmed by caregiving responsibilities, it’s normal to seek solace in something beyond yourself, something that resonates with your own experiences and struggles. Caregiving, while it is an act of love, can be draining and hard. It’s normal to want to turn to a community or shared experiences with other caregivers to make yourself feel less alone.  Literature, and more specifically poetry, has become a mode of communication where people can share their own stories, but also help others by sharing them. There are poems and collections that specifically pertain to caregiving, but there are also poems that capture the common moods one may feel while taking care of a loved one: feelings like hope, grief, loneliness, solitude, and more.  Here are some poems and collections that may speak to you in your caregiving experience: The Caregiver: Poems by Caroline Johnson  The first collection on our list is  The Caregiver: Poems by Caroline Johnson...