Today is the final day of the Caregiving Holiday Progressive Blog Party at Caregiving.com. It's been an interesting week exploring other sites centered on caregivers and those they caring for. This can include the elderly parents in the family, spouses, and/or children or grandchildren with special needs. 

There are definite differences from family to family and caree to caree but we also share a lot in common such as:

• Too much to do and too little time
• Frustration over difficult situations
• Grief – whether we are grieving because of a loved one's death or impending death, because of lost abilities or memories, or because of how things are rather than how we hoped they'd be
• Encouragers – Even at our lowest, we as caregivers are constantly "exercising" our "giving" muscles. That often includes encouraging others even when we are in need of encouragement ourselves – which can, in turn, lead to being encouraged ourselves. A positive cycle instead of the well-known "viscious cycle." I saw this on several caregiving sites I visited including Bette's, Sharon's, and G-J's. 

Caregiving is not easy and there is no one way or perfect way to do it. And that's a vital fact we all need to internalize. We may not all do it the same but whether our beloveds are in our home, in their own home with help from us and or/others, or are in a care facility, it takes a lot of time, energy, strength, wisom, and stick-to-it-ness to care for them. As long as we are doing our best, to the best of our abilities – even on those bad days when our abilities may seem so feeble – that's all anyone can ask of us. And that's all we can ask of ourselves.

Praise God, though, we don't have to do it alone! It is by the grace of God that I am able to do what I do. Many of us also have friends and family who help – sometimes a lot, sometimes not so much but every bit helps. I so appreciate the way God encourages me through my family and friends. as well as through you! And I pray the resources, ideas, and words of encouragement at SandwichINK will be a blessing to each of you who are caring for others, whether it's  your elderly parents, your spouse, your brother or sister or child or grandchild, or someone else in your life! 

P.S. Speaking of blessings, Denise and her great website, Caregiving.com have sure been a blessing to me. And they'd love to be an encouragement to you with a whole raft of great surprises just for leaving a comment there. But first,  be sure to leave a comment here to be entered in the SandwichINK Caregiving Holiday giveaway! Lots of great smiles for all of us caring for our elderly parents or others!

Kaye

With a few exceptions (like Florida, Australia, and Hawaii), the weather is much colder now than it was back in August. For some of us, it is MUCH colder. My local Sandwich Generation family is experiencing snow flurries and weather in the teens. Elsewhere, my extended family has either below zero temps or it's in the 40s but tons of rain. None of these weather conditions are what you want to be stuck in with a dead battery! And yet, that's what happened to me a couple of weeks ago! 

I was on grandkid duty for church youth group. I had to pick her up after some errands and got to church early so I parked and worked in the car for about half an hour. The sun disappeared, kids started wandering out, and the parking lot had some spots open up closer to the door so I moved to one right in front. Five minutes later, out came my grand-darling. She popped into my car with a big smile, I started the car, and heard NOTHING. After trying again, it was time to call my Knights in Shining Armour at AAA ( I LOVE their great roadside assistance clubs plans!) along with her mom. We weren't sure how long I'd have to wait and she still had homework. Turns out I needn't have worried.

Fifteen minutes later, the wonderful truck with their roadside assistance plans' logo showed up – three minutes before her mom. She headed off to hit the books, the wonderful AAA repairman hooked my car up to a charger, and within ten minutes I was on my way. He said it didn't look bad, but with bad weather on the way I didn't want to take chances. I had it checked out at my dealership when I got an oil change, and sure enough, it needed to be replaced. I had them give the car a good once over, changed the windshield wipers and a couple of other things (Yup, this was also mixed in with the whole tires issue – so check those too!). When the first snow started to come down, I was so glad! It was bad enough being stuck in cool weather with one grandchild. Can you imagine if it had happened now, with 12 degrees and a senior mom who freezes when it's 60 degrees! Or, perhaps, with four busy little grandkids and not enough to keep them fed and happy in case AAA was bogged down! 

Tis the season for fun and frivolity (including the Caregiving Holiday Progressive Blog Party we are enjoying this week!). Tis also the season to make sure the cars we drive are in tip-top and safe condition, along with the cars of any of our senior citizen parents – and for that matter, the teens and grand-teens in the family! And if you don't already have one of the great roadside assistance programs or plans for yourself and each of your multi-generation family members still driving, it might be wise to think about adding one. Caregiving needs can keep us so busy that if one has a breakdown, it can be very hard to get out and help right away. But my Knights in Shining Armour at AAA have been a blessing to me relatively quickly several times over the past 40 years!!!! 

P.S. Don't forget to leave a comment below to be entered in the Caregiving Holiday Progressive Blog Party Giveaway! And check out the rest of the giveaway goodies at Caregiving.com. The Blog party lasts all week!  

Kaye

It's the second week of Advent and for this Sandwich Generation granny nanny, it started off with kisses, click clacking, and a clang! The kisses were from sweet grandchildren during a delightful afternoon that also included reading about Daniel Boone, some Advent activities for grandparents and grandchildren as we enjoyed a Christmas praise and worship music CD together, and two VERY fast games of checkers. (They were thrilled as they both won BIG TIME!)

These fun times were followed by a tranquil hour of Panera's hot chocolate and click clacking away on my mini pc portable netbook as I was blog site-seeing around the blog world, including A Pause in Advent and Denise Brown's Caregiving Holiday Progressive Blog Party. 

Then it was on to church for the clang of cymbals accompanied by piano, guitars, and an awesome choir as we thrilled to the sound of majestic Christmas praise and worship music. It was a wonderful Advent Sunday, I must say! 

Perfect days are rare for all of us and especially for those of us involved in caring for elderly parents as well as helping with grandkids. This was one of those days that are truly a gift from God and when they come, it's so important to cherish the moments while they're happening and remember them during the more difficult days.

Another of His sweet gifts are encouraging Bible verses. During the time of Advent and Christmas I love to find creative ways to share the story of the Nativity with fun decorations and activities for grandparents and grandchildren. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 reminds us to surround ourselves with God's Word and Christmas gives us extra opportunities to do just that with unique Christmas tree ornaments and other decorations.

Several of my Christmas tree ornaments have encouraging and uplifting Bible verses on them like 

and

or remind us of spiritual truths,

I have cute stuffed animals from the Christian book store that teach my grandkids to focus on Jesus – the Reason for the Season.

And this year, I was delighted to add a special new decoration from Penny Carlson of Lavender Hill Studio. I won a lovely mosaic cross during the Kelee Katillac's Miracle Party that SandwichINK participated in through Spiritual Sunday.

Penny sweetly gave me my choice of patterns and I selected these delightful pink roses.

After seeing how lovely it was, I knew it had to join my other special Christmas and Easter decorations.

It's perfect for Advent activities for grandparents and grandchildren! It gives me the opportunity to remind them that, without Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead as was prophesied, there would be no Christmas!  Mega thanks again to Penny for this!

How about you? Do you have any special and unique Christmas tree ornaments or other decorations that you use to teach your grandkids or encourage your elderly parents with? We'd love to hear about them. And don't forget. Any comment, anywhere on SandwichINK, from December 5 through December 12, 2010, will enter you in the free blog giveaway for an Amazon gift certificate. And there are even more surprises being given away at Caregiving.com during their Caregiving Holiday Progressive Blog Party. A wonderful gift for all of us caring for the elderly parents in our families. 

Kaye

The holidays can be full of joy, but also full of tears. This is especially true for those of us caring for elderly parents and/or grandkids with health issues, not to mention the widows and widowers among all of us in the baby boomer generation, as well as our senior parents.

The first Christmas after my husband went home to heaven was very difficult emotionally. We survived it but it was very hard! When my senior dad was in the end stage of Parkinsons Disease, he went into hospice at Thanksgiving, was ill through Christmas, and went home to the Lord in early January.  It was a much quieter Advent season for all of us, including my senior mom, that year as well.  I'm grateful, though, that we did have many moments of joy in each of these situations, thanks to the gifts of time and love from good friends and sweet family members!

Through these times and others, I have grown to love the comforting and encouraging Bible verses in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

Going through pain and suffering is never fun or easy, but as hard as it is, I am so encouraged to know that God is always with me throughout it and that He truly is the God of all comfort. And I was blessed over and over by the encouragement I received from others who had walked the path we were now on. In the later months, I was also comforted by many who took me out to lunch or tea to lift my spirits. I was also encouraged that, during those occasions, I was often able to help them and even comfort them in the struggles they were dealing with, as I shared of God's power and provision during our difficult days.

For many in the Sandwich Generation, caring for elderly parents and helping with grandkids, time is so short it's hard to make or keep up with friends at church or elsewhere. The internet has proven to be a blessing to many caregivers, including myself, by giving us new friends online through such sites as BloggerSpirit with their encouraging Spiritual Sundays,  Floss at Troc Broc and Recup with her delightful A Pause in Advent, Internet Cafe Devotions making our Wednesdays brighter with Word-Filled Wednesday, and so many other encouraging and fun sites. And, of course, there are several great sites specific to caregiving, including Caregiving.com, run by Denise Brown. Denise and her site have been a sweet source of encouragement to me the past couple of years and I've made several new friends through it.

As a matter of fact, today is the beginning of  the annual Holiday Progressive Blog Party at Caregiving and, once again, SandwichINK is enjoying participating in it all week long and invites you to come along for the fun. You'll meet new caregivers, read about others in similar situations to your own, have a chance for fun prizes, and be encouraged during this holiday season, even if caregiving or health is keeping you at home. 

After all, it's Christmastime, Jesus' birthday, and that is reason enough to smile and raise a cup of hot chocolate to encourage each other and ourselves as we provide tender loving care for our aging parents! And I must say, that sounds like a WONDERFUL introduction to one of my favorite Christmas praise and worship songs this season. Christmastime by Michael W. Smith just keeps "sweeping me off my feet" and putting a huge smile on my face, even as I'm busy driving from senior parent to grandkids and back again. To enjoy it, just click on PLAY on the Smilebox ecard.

One of my favorite ways to prepare for Christmas during the season of Advent is through music and wasn't that an uplifting song? Hmmm, hot chocolate, new and old friends, comforting Bible verses and delightful Christmas music! Sounds like the perfect recipe for a delightful Advent season for all of us in the Sandwich Generation, caring for elderly parents and helping with grandkids! Don't forget to check back here and at Caregiving.com all week for more holiday fun and encouragement! 

P.S. Speaking of Caregiving and Fun, SandwichINK is giving away a $15 Amazon gift card here at SandwichINK AND another $15 gift card at Caregiving.com. Perfect for the busy elder caregiver to download encouraging and comforting Christmas praise and worship music, a new caregiving book, or maybe even one of the lovely and unique Christmas ornaments that make great gifts for the elderly parents in your life. Just leave a comment anywhere and anytime this week (through 8 p.m. EST on December 12, 2010) at SandwichINK for my giveaway. Check out Caregiving.com for their rules. And MERRY CHRISTMAS!  :) 

Kaye

Happy Second Sunday of Advent! My senior mom and I returned late this week from visiting family. It was so wonderful to see family members we rarely see and we were thrilled with all the wonderful hugs and love. Then we got to come home to even more wonderful hugs and love from family we are blessed to be close to. Talk about a wonderful HIGH for the week.

It wasn’t all happy and roses though as we had to deal with some health issues for a close senior relative, including a CAT scan to see what, if anything, was causing some stomach discomfort. After a lot of prayer and concern, the doctor said nothing major was showing up and that hopefully the discomfort would pass, otherwise more tests would follow in the coming weeks.

So far, praise God, the pain seems to have vanished and our dear kin is doing much better. I was so encouraged by all the prayers from our family, including one grandchild who even asked her class to pray. It is such a blessing to see the fruit of our teaching blooming so wonderfully in the next generation! And it is so encouraging to see God’s hand at work, even in dark situations. This time, it looks like He is giving us a reprieve. I know another time He may allow us to go through “high waters.” I also know that, even then, we can rest solidly on His promises including one of my absolute favorites from Isaiah 41:10:

Do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Surely I will help you,

SURELY I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

I LOVE that second SURELY, don’t you! What a wonderful verse to give us hope during difficult situations! And what a blessing to be surrounded by family and friends who God often uses to encourage us.

One of my online friends who is great at that is Denise Brown from Caregiving.com. Today, she is kicking off a “Caregiving Holiday Progressive Blog Party” for care givers. To any and all who are visiting from that party, WELCOME! The goal of SandwichINK is to provide information and words of encouragement to all care givers, with a focus on the Sandwich Generation. The Sandwich Generation is made up of those who are providing senior home care to aging parents while still caring for kids at home and/or even helping extensively with grandchildren. Many of us are also in the Baby Boomer Generation.

I’ve been a member of the Sandwich Generation for over ten years, helping with senior parents, including my father who is now in heaven after battling with Parkinson’s Disease for over 15 years. I also help care for four of my many wonderful grandchildren, and deal with a wide variety of issues in that arena including special needs. Life is always challenging, never boring, and definitely rewarding and I am so grateful to God for that! I enjoy helping others, both through hands-on care and through my writing. SandwichINK, along with SandwichINK Real Estate Info (where I combine my love of real estate with the needs of the Sandwich Generation), both give me a chance to do just that!

I’d love for you to sign up SandwichINK’s free email. You’ll get regular updates on all that’s going on here, including fun projects for grandparents, great resources for senior home caregivers, tech tips to keep your computer working well, happy holiday ideas like Advent wreaths and fun Christmas tree ornaments, and so much more!

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed Christmas season! Don’t forget to click on Caregiving.com’s Party Widget to find more interesting Progressive Party sites!  And check back tomorrow for A Pause for Advent!