In early 2000, author Sharon Marchisello’s mother, Lolita, seemed to understand that something was different and once told her daughter “Losing your mind is a terrible thing.” She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and the whole family was learning how to adjust to life with a loved one who was quickly changing. Years later, with … More A Conversation with Sharon Marchisello
Ten days ago, I began to receive an unsettling drumbeat of emails from the senior residential community where my 91-year-old mother Ginny lives. August 28th: “We now have 2 confirmed cases in Memory Care.” August 29th: “we currently have two (2) positive cases in Memory Care and two (2) positive cases in Assisted Living.” August … More Delta Developments
It has been almost a year since my mother Ginny turned 90 during the Covid lockdown. At the time, I remember telling her that as soon as restrictions lifted, we would celebrate this important birthday by taking her out to her favorite restaurant, ordering her favorite gin and tonic cocktail and digging into a birthday … More Life Inside Memory Care
It is the oddest feeling as I prepare to pull out my carry-on bag from the recesses of my closet. It both feels like yesterday and ten years ago since I’ve opened it. It’s been 17 months to be exact. The last time I used it was when I was assisting my 89-year-old mother Ginny … More A Night That Changed Everything -Another Type of Covid Casualty
As with so many of our elderly, my 90-year-old mother Ginny is entering her 11th month trying to live her life at a senior living facility in Florida while simultaneously facing the confines of a relentless pandemic. It’s been hard. She’s been in full lockdown, experienced some freedoms last fall as restrictions eased, and currently, … More The Strain of Covid – An Update Inside One Senior Community
It was mid-September when I sent a text checking in with my sister and she replied “We’re with mom at the hair salon and she says hi.” This is how I learned that restrictions had been relaxed for my 90-year-old mother Ginny who had been in lockdown inside her senior living residence for 186 days. … More My Mother’s Post Lockdown – The Challenges Continue
Like so many of us who have elderly parents living in senior residential facilities, my 89-year-old mother Ginny has been on lockdown since mid-March because of the Corona virus. This status has remained unchanged for an unprecedented 19 weeks. Since I have shared many of her stories here, I thought I would give an inside … More Life During Lockdown – My Mother’s Story
There are a couple of reasons why I’m re-posting this piece I shared last August (with a couple of additions.) First, this week would have been the Masters Golf Tournament. My mother will be sad to miss the beauty of the course this year with its flowering pink dogwood and magnolia trees and its beautiful … More Finding Joy in Your 80’s & 90’s 2.0
On the evening of Monday, March 16th, my 89-year-old mother Ginny’s Independent/Assisted living facility was placed on lockdown. No one in and no one out to limit the spread of COVID-19. Although there are several confirmed cases of the virus in the county, at this time, there are none inside the residence. I was not … More My Mom Is On Lockdown
My primary goal with writing this post is to get input from readers. We had an experience a few months ago with an Independent/Assisted Living home, and I would be interested if anyone can shed some light on whether our experience was unusual or not. I’m going to skip through some of our ongoing story … More Questions: A Story About a Senior Housing Lease
