Daughterhood Updates
Caregiving During the Holidays is Not a Hallmark Movie
On Christmas day, 2021, I took my parents’ dog for a walk by myself. My Dad’s nausea was bad that day and my mom’s grief was worse. My own children and husband were 800 miles away. All around me happy families seemed to be strolling along, multiple generations...
The Myth of Self Care in Caregiving
Every time you turn on your computer, there’s some story or advice about the importance of self-care, especially for women. We read about how we need to get more sleep, which has the effect of keeping us up all night worrying about the bad things that will happen if...
It’s Not Your Fault
The emails come into our inbox. “Please help,” is usually how they start. What so often follows is the same story with only slightly different details. A 90-something parent, living on social security, has fallen, gone to the hospital and now needs rehabilitation to...
3 Strategies to Overcome the Most Stressful Part of Daughterhood
There is almost nothing in life more stressful than feeling like you are 100 percent responsible for a situation over which you have zero control. This is happening a lot these days in my house because somehow, somewhere, my daughter has grown into a teenager and I’ve...
Where Can Caregivers Go for Help?
Caregivers have questions! At Daughterhood, we’ve heard a lot of them over the years. Each person comes to us with a unique and complex set of problems. These problems almost always generate some version of the question, “Where do I go for help? Where do I even...
What My Dad’s Death Taught Me About Dying
Three years ago, my father and I rode horses together for miles and miles of trails at a Florida state park. Two weeks after that, the world shut down and two years later, he died. His dying was my first very close-up experience with serious illness and death. If...
3 Mantras Every Caregiver Needs
If you are caring for aging parents, there are many websites and books you can use to get smart about how to manage and provide care for them. But, it’s a good idea to remember that no matter how much planning you do, there’s no substitute for experience. Research is...
Ending Loneliness in Caregiving
Other than death of a loved one, few things are more disorienting than making the shift from being cared for by your parents to caring for them. This transition is made even more challenging because it usually comes as such a surprise. And it’s not just the...
What Caregivers Really Want Their Friends to Know
Remember when your first friends entered parenthood and you thought they seemed so boring and self-absorbed. And, then... you had a baby and you got it? Well, that’s happening again. Only this time, it’s because some of us have started taking care of our aging...
Caring for Aging Parents – A Sibling’s Survival Guide
of EThere are many heartbreaking moments to navigate when our parents start to depend on us for care. But few are as painful as fighting with our siblings. This doesn’t always happen. Sibling relationships can be a source of strength and comfort as parents grow...