The expected death of a loved one still hurts terribly. My mother lived with early onset Alzheimer’s disease for over a decade. She lived in a nursing home with advanced dementia for almost five years. And she lived on hospice care for two years. I prepared for her death for years. I was relieved, of…
It’s often difficult to know how to help a grieving friend. Maybe your friend’s dad just died. Maybe your friend’s mom just had a stroke. Or maybe your friend just experienced a miscarriage. Maybe your friend’s child was just diagnosed with an incurable illness. Maybe your friend was just diagnosed with cancer. Or maybe your…
We were originally supposed to get married in May of 2008. But, when it was clear that my mother’s early onset Alzheimer’s disease was progressing rapidly, we moved the wedding up by four months. I’m happy she still knew I was her daughter at my wedding despite Alzheimer’s disease. Fifteen years ago today, on January…
My parenting resolution is to give my kids more life and less grief. This year, I want to give my kids more experiences and less things. I want to give my kids more new perspectives and less judgement. And I want to give my kids more encouragement and less criticism. My parenting resolution is to…
This is the face of high functioning anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression is my norm. My anxiety started in elementary school. And my depression started in middle school, when I was in sixth grade and my dog died to be exact. I never know how much of it is situational and how much of…
