The Caregiver Calling

[...] reason for resentment since what I was doing was my profession. Caring for Mary Ann became my job, but Mary Ann never ceased to be or to feel like my wife.  I was her husband and [...]

[...] There were eight of us.  Mary Ann left and there were seven.  Now there are six.  Today Marlene ended her journey here with us.  [...]

[...] of failure, feelings of guilt that plague most Caregivers. In the moments of pain at what Mary Ann suffered, it helps to remember that I couldn’t fix her.  If I could have made her better, I [...]

[...] person again.  There have been times I have felt very much alone, not whole at all, missing Mary Ann terribly.  I remember when Mary Ann and I were trying to manage all the challenges of [...]

[...] “Carol of the Bells” played by the church’s (Atonement Lutheran) very large and accomplished Handbell choir.  Then began an evening filled with an array of classical and contemporary pieces of [...]

That is a reality that Caregiver’s often simply refuse to accept.  I think one of the things that allowed me to survive and resulted in a better [...]

The concert was almost beyond description in how wonderfully they sang and played.  I had in my mind when I drove over to KC to hear Granddaughter Ch [...]

[...] people to whom I have served over the forty years of ministry have been married for multiple decades.  One couple made over 75 years of marriage.  Since Mary Ann died after we were [...]

That is a reality that Caregiver’s often simply refuse to accept.  I think one of the things that allowed me to survive and resulted in a better [...]

[...] with my own grief as Charlie and his family deal with theirs. All of us who have known Marlene recognize what  a remarkable person she has been.  Not only did she deal with her disease without [...]

There were eight of us.  Mary Ann left and there were seven.  Now there are six.  Today Marlene ended her journey here with us.  The eight of us m [...]

[...] of the names aloud.  It was a sad morning in that regard.  On the other side of it, Granddaughter Ashlyn was in a hugging mode.  She kept her Grandpa close in church.  She was sitting next to me [...]

[...] to simply lose myself in the music, drinking it in, watching the performers, celebrating the marvelous impact of the sounds and visuals (the faces of the perfomers).  Son Micah put his arm around my [...]