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Bio

My first exposure to caregiving started in 2000 when my father-in-law had a stroke, paralyzing his entire right side and leaving him unable to speak.  He also has diabetes, which resulted in his right leg being amputated in 2002.  When my mother-in-law's dementia worsened in 2003, she lived with my husband and me for a short time, then we moved both of them into a nursing home near us.

 

In 2005, my mother's dementia reached the point that she moved in with us and has lived here since then.

 

Managing parents' daily needs, finances, healthcare, and insurance, as well as cruising the net to research relevant information pretty much takes up my time these days.  The joys of having two delightful adult children and two wonderful grandchildren (are there any other kind?) are a big focus of my life.  Cookies, anyone?

 

Now as my husband and I move toward retirement around 2011, focusing on ramping up our savings and investments takes up whatever time I have left.

 

I love reading, and especially draw upon poetry as a resource for handling the considerable stresses that life has now.  So my days usually end by checking in on several of my favorite online poetry sites for some inspiration or comfort.  I'm not sure I could make it through without Poems.com and VerseDaily.com for a final touch of delight to end my day.  If the day's poems don't appeal, then I drag out one of my many heavy notebooks with my favorite poems printed out, and I re-read some of them.  With good poetry, there's always something there that you haven't yet discovered.

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