Axios reports, as anyone caring for a person needing care knows, that home health care services are rising. As someone who paid for home health aides for Burt for the better part of his five year affliction, I can attest how very expensive this already was. If only… if only we had gotten long-term careContinue reading “Cost of Care”
Author Archives: TheRealTamara
Quitting, is that really an option?
You know what, I quit Based on A Prompt From My Caregiver Writing Group In the rearview mirror when I watch my caregiving technique, I wince at this. Yes, I would throw my hands in the air in dramatic exasperation. “I can’t, I give up,” I would say, making for the bedroom door. You knowContinue reading “Quitting, is that really an option?”
Burt over the years
The picture top left just turned up in my phone. I was just noodling and this photo from 2006 popped up. Burt in front of Peking ducks is a long forgotten restaurant. It’s the only photo I (and you) had not seen before.
A trip
My first trip in forever takes me to a meditation on when and where Burt and I had travelled. Our travels were circumspect; we stayed close to home. We took the Amtrak to Hudson a number of times. Hudson is kind of the gateway to the Berkshires where I am going this weekend. On theContinue reading “A trip”
HiProtein O’s
I am still in that crazy but comforting space where Burt is present. While eating protein oats, I am wondering if only I had had Magic Spoon high protein o’s for him could I have prolonged his life? Then I wonder if he would benefit from that; would he want his life extended; would heContinue reading “HiProtein O’s”
At home on a rainy day
As I sit here writing, and reading, I have a strong feeling that Burt is present with me. It’s the first time, since the time I thought I needed to go check on him. That had happened just a few days after he passed. It’s been months now, nearly eight, and this is different. Today,Continue reading “At home on a rainy day”
Your story
Memory fades. Not just yours, my dear which was strangely altered and crippled by the dementia with which you suffered. Everyone’s. It, like the hearing of which couples complain, can be selective. Or just inaccurate. It was a gift to me when you recounted so much of your life story to me. Some of itContinue reading “Your story”
The d-word
It is more than mildly distressing to me to throw the p.w.d. label on djt. It also gives me pause when I hear my news sources or Rep. Madeleine Dean, say that trump is “losing it.” I feel it dishonors Burt. I also acknowledge that my stance on this is weird.
October 2013
Burt was so angry over the 2013 government shutdown that he refused to ever vote again. I disagreed with his conclusion, but understood the reasoning. He felt it was a huge disruption. The ACA prompted the Rs to stop work for those 16 days. We seem to have a similar excuse– health care– this timeContinue reading “October 2013”
this is our life 