JOAN’S BLOG – TUES/WED, JULY 7/8, 2009 – HOW CAN WE DO IT ALL?

I know I have it better than many of you. I do not have to dress, bathe, and feed my husband. As I mentioned in a recent blog, he is CURRENTLY calm, so I am not dealing with the rages anymore. Whew! What a relief!

But I AM dealing with cooking (if you want to call what I do cooking), laundry, insurance issues, very complex financial problems, researching Independent Living Facilities, bill paying, trying to keep Sid occupied, stress free, and adhering to a routine, as well as being patient in trying to explain information to him, which he forgets as soon as I say it. All of this while I am working full time on the website (writing, researching, design, advertising, marketing) AND writing a book. Let’s not forget driving everywhere, including doctor’s appointments that never seem to end. But worst of all, the thought of cleaning and moving AGAIN is making me sick to my stomach. I do believe that if we move into an Independent Living Facility, my life will be simplified with far less worries and responsibilities, but finding one that is suitable to our needs and affordable to our budget is another problem.

Sid can no longer be my chief partner and share the monumental responsibilities. As I see it, there is nothing I can delegate except some of the web work. It’s time to call my expert back and put him to work for the summer.

I did refuse Alzheimer’s grass roots political committee work, and I did give up my position on our Memory Walk committee. I also turned over the website business finances to a volunteer MBA/CPA.

The last time I had this much life altering stress was when we were trying to clean out and sell our house that we had lived in for 30 years; I had lost my job; Sid had lost his job; we did not know what was causing his strange behavior, and our dog was dying of cancer. The dog situation put me over the edge. I could handle all of it except that. At least this time, I don’t have a dying dog to contend with.

Which brings me back to the title of this blog  - How do you do it ALL? Especially those of you who are working full time?

Stay tuned for a big anniversary celebration. Can you guess whose anniversary it is? (Not my wedding anniversary- that was last month.)

Feedback to joan@thealzheimerspouse.com

©Copyright 2009 Joan Gershman 
The Alzheimer Spouse LLC 2009 All Rights Reserved

The material included on this website contains general information intended as information only. This site is not intended to provide personal, professional, medical, or psychological advice, and should not be relied upon to govern behavior in any certain or particular circumstances. The opinions in the blogs are solely those of the owner of the website. The opinions on the message boards are not necessarily endorsed by the owner of this website, and are the opinions of those persons writing the messages. All material on this web site is for demonstration and informational purposes only.

The Alzheimer Spouse LLC 2009 All Rights Reserved