Author Archives: Judy

About Judy

I'm an illustrator by profession. At this juncture in my life, I am pursuing my dream of writing and composing music. Every day of my life is precious!

ILLUMINATING HEARTACHE

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Judy

There was a lot of listening to do. She shared her anguish with a voice that did not reveal the true depth of her pain. The hospital insisted that her dying husband be released to her care tomorrow. She was not prepared. The hospital felt there was nothing more to do and she was responsible to set up hospice care; she needed to handle all those arrangements. She needed a hospital bed; she needed nurses. It was overwhelming. It was hard for her to deal with; she wanted him to stay in the hospital a little longer. Continue reading →

Tagged Caregiving, childhood friendship, death, Friendship, friendship during illness, grief, grief and support, GRIEF RELATED, Holocaust survivor, Hospice, illness, inspiration, loss, supportive | Leave a comment

A DAUGHTER’S LOVE – PART 2

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Judy

My mother ended the call with, “Honey, everyone has been so nice to me today! This nice man from the facility came over to walk with me. I can use a walker even better now! Are you sure I still need a caregiver? This man didn’t even charge me anything.”
I got off the phone. I was feeling positive again.
Continue reading →

Tagged "sandwich generation", Advocacy, Aging Parents, Caregiving, caring physical therapy, Daily Life, mother, mother daughter relationship, mother's illness, parenting, physical therapy elderly, recovery from respirator | Leave a comment

REACHING OUT

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Judy

What does reaching out really mean?
To me, it means that sometimes it involves doing something we might find uncomfortable.
Often, there is an excuse of not wanting to reach out because we might impose on someone.
Sometimes, it is difficult to do something because we’re afraid it might cause the other person to be sad.
Often the truth is that we don’t want to see their sadness!
It’s far easier to ignore it! When the sadness is hidden, we can assume it’s “going away.” That is simply not true. For many people, the sadness is so much easier to tolerate when it is shared.
However, my lesson is that even though every person is different – it is well worth the risk to reach out. Continue reading →

Tagged Caregiving, Daily Life, Friendship, friendship during grief, grief, grief and support, inspiration, Ordinary Life, reaching out, sick husband, teacher's love | 1 Comment

ONLY TEARS – PART 1

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Judy

Today, I realized I had the same feeling I did when I finished writing about Jason. It was the feeling that my blog had a first page, which was extremely meaningful. The whole experience was such an “up and out,” that I felt calm and able to manage without sharing anything for a while. There was simply no point to follow it with something trivial. Continue reading →