Caregiving: A Legacy To Be Proud Of

Have you thought about what you’d want your obituary to say about you? I hadn’t until I was recently asked to write an article on the topic. I enjoy a challenge and thought, “Why not?” How would I want my life to be summed up after I’m gone? As I considered this article, the natural starting point for me was with my parents’ obituaries since I wrote them.

Each of my parents suffered a long slow decline, so I had plenty of time to ponder their lives and the words that could encapsulate who they were.

Dad’s obituary was fairly easy to compose, though I needed to dig for some documentation. He’d gotten international awards in public health and had educational and work-related information that could have filled pages, but he was a humble man who rarely talked about work-related accomplishments. Many people benefited from his kind heart and his generous personality, but the most important part of his life was his family. He was very proud of us all and he often told us so.

Mom’s obituary was more difficult to write. I’d seen many obituaries where a wife was remembered mainly as an appendage of her husband. I was determined that Mom’s obituary and funeral would be about her as a person, not principally as Dad’s wife, and I believe I succeeded. I listed her expansive…

Continue reading on Agingcare for more about your legacy as a caregiver:

Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “For anyone having to walk the last segments of life with a loved one, read this.” …Delores

Discover the Difference. EGOSAN: The premium incontinence brand caregivers love  –  Now Available on Amazon.