Author Archives: Ardella

Thank you for your interest in caregiving. This site will no longer be active, but the posts will remain accessible. The link to my new blog on spiritual living, “I Need a Minute” is https://2delanco.wordpress.com/

I started this blog a year ago to encourage caregivers, based on my own experience as a caregiver. Thanks to input from many of you who have followed me during this time, I have been inspired to continue on this journey. However, I sense that it is time now to change courses.  My true interestContinue reading “Transitioning”

The following excerpt was written many years ago. It is one of the lessons I learned while caring for my mother during her journey with Alzheimer’s: This is more about her than it is about me. I try to imagine what it would be like to not be able to remember the things I needContinue reading “Carry Over Lessons”

It dawned on me after the first entry on this topic that we cannot smile outwardly when there is no joy inside us. Smiles cannot be forced, though many try to do so. Genuine smiles, however, just bubble up with little or no effort. As my son and I were posing for pictures a fewContinue reading “Smiling Eyes, Part 2”

The decision to wear or not wear a mask during this pandemic has become a painful point of controversy. The main challenge for me, however, is feeling that others may not know that I am smiling at them. This always reminds me of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s 1896 poem, “We Wear the Mask.” It was laterContinue reading “Smiling Eyes”

Most cell phones provide a warning when the battery is getting low. Some even have the option of going into a power-saving mode. Once the phone is connected to a charger, it indicates the current percentage of power left in the battery. Some chargers show how long it will take until the battery is completelyContinue reading “Recharging”

We encounter them everywhere, and maybe we just don’t notice them. We may have even said they are just doing their jobs. Service workers received a lot more attention than they usually do at the height of the pandemic; but there are service workers everywhere, not just in the medical field. Yet, we sometimes mayContinue reading “Unidentified Caregivers”

The storm came up suddenly as I sped down the highway, and soon the sky let loose sheets of torrential rain. There was no way to pull over, so I slowed down and put on the hazard lights like most other drivers. I found myself behind semi-trucks that added to the limited visibility because ofContinue reading “Who’s Your Cheerleader?”

It doesn’t seem as though we have to be told to do good. But we do have to be told to not get tired of doing good. What starts out as a good idea needs our perseverance to become productive. We learn that from our intended exercise programs or promises to stay in touch.  IContinue reading “Stick With It”