Finally, a ‘blog’ on a blog site! Imagine!
These random chats about the daily routine of my spouse-caregiving provide the updates that follow on the heels of the first two books, Is There Any Ice Cream? and Did You Hide the Cookies?
As My Love keeps moving through the spectrum of Alzheimer’s disease, I learn more, and will continue to share our experiences in real time right here, and possibly in another book, who knows! My hope is that I can continue to tear down the stigma that comes from the fears and misunderstandings of ‘not knowing.’ 💕
Today is My Love’s 81st birthday. Our Alzheimer’s journey began sometime in fall of 2011… the date escapes me…but I think acknowledging almost nine years has made me mindful of time! I never dreamed caregiving, and thus my books about caregiving, would span such a long, long time!
All Titles, the main-menu stories, will remain where they are as topical focus of this site.
The Blog stories will be spontaneous help you ease into the caregiver you never intended to become.
As a fledgling caregiver, I was unfamiliar with just about everything and wished for books that gave me a loose understanding of the dementia impact on life from a spouse-caregiver perspective.
Well, I would “have to learn the hard way,” as my mother used to remind me.
It’a good thing that I like the experience of discovering for myself. Because that is what I did…and then I wrote the books I wished I’d found. 🌷
If only as a new caregiver I had discovered stories about a retired wife whose loved one was diagnosed after retirement with several fatal diseases, including Alzheimer’s. If only I had discovered that I was among a special group, a tribe, a family of caring human beings who could become supportive for me as I was becoming for My Love.
A book that shared emotional stories would have been perfect. It might have guided me to see experiences I did not know to look for. If only I had not taken so long to look at life with new eyes and a more nurturing heart. And so I felt the need to become a storyteller, to unmask incidents and tidbits, emotions and experiences, that might help caregivers understand the need to reach out for support waiting for them.
So I wrote one, and then two … Accepting the Gift of Caregiving series of books, Is There Any Ice Cream? and Did You Hide the Cookies? And then this blog of the same name as the series of books.
BEFORE YOU GO . .. take a look at Quintessential Caregiver Support and Caregiver Tips… consider if you can add a support idea or a meaningful tip to the growing collections.
Caregivers depend on one another. Become part of the caregiver chain of care! 💜
As I sit here, I know My Love is in the latter stages of his Alzheimer’s years. The horrors of the impact of multiple diseases in those earlier years have faded. I still grieve as I recognize what is gone. But I can take time to reflect and find joy in little incidents of day to day, as my brain begins to download to my fingers and the keyboard once again.
Thank you for you visiting! 💖 Add you name to our mailing list to get notice when there is a new posting. Email me your first name and email address. No fees. No obligations. Just information, stories and encouragement for caregivers. It’s so nice we have connected! 😊🌷🍦🍪
~jas
Blog Posts (c) 2020 Judith Allen Shone
💜 MUCH APPRECIATION:💜
Thank you …to book readers, book sellers, librarians, followers, champions and friends, for supporting spouse-caregivers of those with memory loss,
and to all who supported and encouraged me to publish Is There Any Ice Cream?, and Did You Hide the Cookies? for those who want to learn about the world of caregiving!
And especially to:
A Different Drummer Books, Burlington, Ontario (order books)
Access Abilities, Oakville and Mississauga, Ontario
Acclaim Health, Oakville, Ontario
Alzheimer Society Halton, Burlington, Ontario (reserve a book)
Maria’s Bookshop, Durango, Colorado (order books)
Oakville Animal Clinic, Oakville, Ontario
ReikimasterinOakville Greater GTA, Ontario
SENACA Senior Program, Oakville, Ontario (now part of Acclaim Health)
The Bookworm, Omaha, Nebraska (order books)
Order online at booksellers, including Amazon
Accepting the Gift of Caregiving 