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 volunteer projects as well as her tireless work with children and told of her many years of caring for her elders.
For both of my parents, other accomplishments aside, it was their caring hearts and their…
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Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. An inspiring read for caregivers! Minding Our Elders is a series of stories about caregiving. But it is much more than that. It’s a book that helps us view aging and community through the lens of someone well versed in eldercare. Author Carol Bradley Bursack has been a caregiver for a neighbor and six elderly members of her family. These experiences made her the perfect person to interview and share the stories of friends and acquaintances. Through crisp writing and a sharp focus, we enter the lives of those struggling to care for loved ones with dementia and other age-related illnesses. As I read Minding Our Elders, I felt myself filling up with both appreciation and admiration for those who adopt the caregiving role. In addition, I was struck with the inherent value Carol sees in our elders. This is a well-written book that will stir your heart! …Ann C
