A Daughter's Stories About an Aging Parent: Sharing Tips & Facts Learned Along The Way
Today I’m in the mood to pull the curtains back from a darkened room and find the joy. Living through aging parent experiences is draining, it goes with the territory, but witnessing pure joy sure brings in a lot of light. I found an example of just such a joy when reading a Glamour article…
In an unusual coincidence, two different friends are holding memorial services today for a parent who passed away. One friend’s father died young at age 68 in Illinois and they returned to California with his ashes this weekend. The other friend’s mother died four days ago at age 100 and her service is in Pennsylvania.…
Since the launch of my blog, I have been asked a few times “why did you choose Leaving The Door Open for the site name?” For me, it fell neatly into a few categories. First, I wanted a well-known phrase for readers. It was possible it would be easier to remember and I was also…
It appears that the Florida Triangle is alive and well and actively swallowing everything in sight inside my mother Ginny’s apartment. Over the last several months, she has lost both hearing aids, a gift card I had given her for Christmas, a shoe horn, her glasses, a library book, a birthday present and a television…
Read more The Florida Triangle: A Look at Losing “Stuff” & Memory
I was visiting my 88-year-old mother Ginny one rainy afternoon and was doing her laundry. As I waited for two loads to go through the washer and dryer, and the storm continued outside, I decided to ask her an old question I had always been curious about. I was familiar with her childhood and being…
Read more How To Hold Onto An Aging Parent’s Favorite Stories
While searching for links regarding the elderly and memories, I found this timely article. Apparently, there is a nursing home in New York which built a kiosk featuring six ballpark scents residents can smell by hitting a button. Its purpose is to stimulate long-term memory through scent. With the All-Star Break just a couple of…
I have muddled feelings this morning. I woke just before 6:00 a.m. with a startled shake. I had just dreamt that I was simultaneously looking for and hiding from my mother because she had a gun. We were at some huge outdoor event. I kept running into people I knew and telling them what was…
My recent mistake with the cable company is back to haunt me. They are switching to a digital signal and all customers need new converter boxes before the deadline. This includes my 88-year-old mother. During a past visit, I had brought the wrong box (previous post) back from their sales office to hook up to…
This post is a little different as I’m stepping outside of the larger story to move my legs a bit and share my hopeful intent. As you’ve read, I am living day-to-day with helping my elderly mom. I’m definitely in the thick of it. Somewhere in there, I wanted to write it down. It started…
Herman Wouk. Ken Follett. David Baldacci. Barack Obama. What do these authors have in common? They have all kept my elderly mother Ginny company at one time or another. Books have been Ginny’s go-to hobby for as long as I can remember. She really is a bookworm. She’ll check out three or four books at…
