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Tag Archives: Family
Mom and Her (Damn) Cat
Last Sunday, May 22, mom fell again. This time, despite my attempts to avoid it, she was hospitalized. They ran the usual battery of tests. Not surprisingly, mom had another urinary tract infection. What was surprising is that it occurred … Continue reading
Posted in Alzheimer's, Dementia, Elder Care, Elderly Parents, Long Distance Caregiving
Tagged Alzheimer's, Assited Living, Cats, Dementia, Elder Care, Elderly Mother, Family, Hip Fracture, Home Health Care, Hospice, Hospice Care, Long Distance Caregiving, Long-Distance Care, Love, Medicare, Nursing home, Pet Therapy, Skilled Nursing
49 Comments
It’s my life.
Over the past several years, I’ve been working on remaking my life. I dumped the loser “fiance,” got off the antidepressants, took control of my financial life, and stopped drinking booze. Within the next year or two, I’ll have ditched … Continue reading
Posted in Early Retirement
Tagged BigLaw, Early Retirement, Family, Quitting Law, Retirement
62 Comments
Freeloading Family
My nephew is a freeloader. Yesterday, after years of back and forth, I traveled to Houston to put a stop to it. My mother’s oldest grandson, in his early thirties, has lived in her home (in a garage apartment) for … Continue reading
Posted in Early Retirement, Elderly Parents, Freeloading Family, Retirement
Tagged Alcoholism, Canada, Early Retirement, Elderly Parents, Family, Family Freeloader, Freeloader, Frugality, Gitche Gumee, Lake Superior, Moocher, Ontario Canada, Retirement, Sobriety, stress, Stress Reduction, Stupid SUVs
54 Comments
Where the Cat Is
A few weeks ago, I mentioned to a work colleague that my family had made it through an entire year without any calamities. No one had died. No one had any serious health issues. If I were a superstitious sort, … Continue reading
Posted in Alzheimer's, Cats, Dementia, Elderly Parents, Health
Tagged Alzheimer's, animals, Assisted Living, Cats, Dementia, Elderly Parents, Family, Health, holidays, Home, Mini-Stroke, rehab hospital, Stroke, TIA, Transient Ischemic Attack, Vascular Dementia
11 Comments
Looking at Rocks
I’ve been home from the family cabin on Lake Superior for five days. My mind had been like the lake when it’s filled with silt–cloudy, murky, particles swirling around, obscuring from view the rocks on the bottom. I’ve settled. The silt is gone. The … Continue reading
Posted in Abusive Relationships, Alcoholism, Alzheimer's, Codependency, Death of a sibling, Domestic Violence, Elderly Parents, Lake Superior, Mid-Life
Tagged Abusive Relationships, Alcoholism, Alzheimer's, Death, Death of a sibling, Domestic Abuse, Dysfunctional family, Family, Family Dysfunction, Grief, mental-health, Mid-Life, Narcissism, Narcissist
20 Comments
Gitche Gumee
I just returned from a short trip to my father’s cabin on Lake Superior in Northern Ontario. The last time I was up in August 2011, my father and brothers were still alive. My parents went up every summer in … Continue reading
Posted in Alzheimer's, Canada, Death and Grief, Dementia, Elderly Parents, Grief, Healing, Lake Superior, Nature, Ontario, Travel
Tagged Alzheimer's, Birds, Canada, Chipmunks, Death, Death and Grief, Dementia, Elderly Parents, Family, Father, Gitche Gumee, Grief, Grieving, Lake Superior, Loons, mental-health, nature, Ontario, outdoors, Photography, Travel, vacation
12 Comments
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Another surreal Christmas has drawn to a close. Over the past several days, I’ve been trying to think back to a time when Christmas wasn’t weird. When it was happy and normal. Maybe they were never happy and normal. But I get glimpses of … Continue reading
Posted in Death and Grief, Mid-Life
Tagged Alcoholism, Alzheimer's, Christmas, Death and Grief, Death of a sibling, Family, Grief, Grieving, Holiday, Mid-Life, Mother, Sibling
12 Comments
Black and White
I used to dislike the holidays because of the family dysfunction. I now dislike the holidays because of the lack of family to create dysfunction. This time last year, we were adjusting to the death of my oldest brother (April … Continue reading
Mushroom Baby
Family time has always been a mixed bag for me. (Which makes me unique amongst my readers, I’m sure.) On Thanksgiving, I’d drive down to Houston in the morning, have dinner with my family, and drive back to Austin in the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Children and Youth, Death, Death and Grief, Death of a sibling, Family, holidays, Home, Mid-Life, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, Turkey Trot
5 Comments
Rantings of a Bad Daughter
I need to get a grip on what to do in dealing with my elderly mother, and by extension, my sister. I want to run. Again. Only farther, this time. By way of background, my father was an alcoholic of … Continue reading
