Dr. Laura,
I want to tell you that I think you just get better as you get older, and here's some proof:
I have been looking after the care of my 91-year-old father for the past five years. He lives in a care facility, and needs a good amount of my attention. He was a wonderful dad to me and I am honoring his care of me by returning it to him now. Truth be told, there are many challenging times, due to his dementia. For many of us Baby Boomers, we are seeing our parents live much longer than our grandparents did, and we are seeing a good deal of dementia amongst our elderly parents. So these times could be considered to be "uncharted waters" for us adult children caring for our aging parents.
Listening to your podcasts daily has been a kind of "support therapy" for me as I navigate these years, not knowing how long they will extend, or what challenges lie around the corner. From your show, I have learned so much about human nature, and human behavior, not to mention about living with a moral purpose in mind. Your keen mind and advice have provided me with a much-needed intellectual release from my father's care demands for which I'm responsible. Along the way, I have also been schooled in your ideas about "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands", for which my husband is delighted! So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I can't get "drained" by the caregiving when I am "filling my own tank" with your wisdom and your voice of experience and insight. I would say that two issues we caregivers are learning how to handle is: how to balance our energies in order to properly care of ourselves and our own health, and then to also take good care of our spouses. It feels like a balancing act, and we can only do our best.
Thanks, again, Dr. Laura, for your help and caring.
Lisa
