Posts Tagged ‘caregiver burnout’
More Than a Caregiver
My dear sweet boy, I love you, and I thank you for being so patient with me right now. In this new season of hard I want to be the best mom, but right now it feels like I don’t know how to be your mother at all. I promise, I’m trying. Thank you for forgiving me, for loving me through, and for granting me grace as we walk through this hard season of our journey. I’m asking all the questions, looking for all the resources. We are actively working…
Read MoreTo the Caregivers, You are not Alone
My good friends Kate at Finding Cooper’s Voice and Amanda at Jackson’s Journey, Jackson’s Voice, have started a campaign called More than a Caregiver. They are raising money so they can help give special needs caregivers free therapy sessions. It’s so important for special needs parents to know that they have somewhere to turn when it gets tough, that someone understands them and that they are not alone. I’ve been interviewing a lot of moms this last year. One thing they all say is that the pandemic has helped people…
Read MoreWe are Parents First
In the summer of 2020, I developed hives. It started with one on my hand, then a couple on my arms, and the next thing I knew…my whole torso was covered. The current heatwave, of course, wasn’t helping but having been in the air conditioning, I knew that wasn’t the cause. It was at the point of no return, the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet were riddled with splotches of itchy red bumps, that I called my local urgent care. A telehealth visit with a…
Read MoreMore Than a Caregiver
I am so excited to share with you that Finding Cooper’s Voice is launching a brand new initiative to help caregivers! We are partnering with a counseling agency to bring counseling services to caregivers in need. And we are offering it FREE OF CHARGE for the caregiver. Finding Cooper’s Voice, along with donations and support, will pay for up to 3 counseling sessions per caregiver. We are also going to remove the barriers to getting counseling. So often, as parents, we struggle to help ourselves. It can all feel like…
Read MoreYou Don’t Have to Walk This Path Alone
Sitting in the dark, of course I did it too. Too proud or too ashamed to show my tears. I remember my Gran: “You are one of us, we don’t cry, we straighten our back, chin up and smile head high, no matter what.” She told me that when I was slightly younger than my daughter. She was lecturing me because I cried over other kids bullying me. Tough skin, tough love. She was that kind of a woman. It also taught me not to show my hurt…my tears are…
Read MoreThe Side I Don’t Share
This is a mom on the verge. A mom completely out of patience, and it’s nowhere near noon, on Halloween, in a pandemic…so the magic is up to me – a mom who does NOT have the energy needed to make today memorable. I’ll somehow muster little sparks, because I always do, because I have to, because if I don’t, the darkness will swallow me whole. I’m not allowed to say how freaking hard it is to be a mother to an autistic 4 year old. Because it’s up to…
Read MoreWhen Vacationing Is “Brave”
‘You’re so brave for going on vacation without your kids. I could never do that as a mother.’ Hold up. Stop the train. What a thing to read at 3 am. That is what we call a backhanded compliment. I get them all the time. But this one, well, it struck a nerve. See, I did go on vacation. I abandoned my three sweet boys and husband to go to Disney for four blissful days. I pushed pause on my own work, canceled therapy appointments and organized what I could…
Read MoreWhen the Super Mom Gets Depressed
There is a stigma around depression. A really, really ugly one. And I think there’s especially a stigma around mothers who have depression. If you’re depressed, you’re weak. Broken. You are medicated. You cry a lot. You sleep a lot. This isn’t true. At least not for me. I have a wonderful life. Two beautiful children. Three wild dogs. A wonderful and supportive partner. A beautiful home. I’m not weak. I am strong. I am freakishly independent. And I am not broken…at least not completely. I am not medicated. And on…
Read MoreI Never Lost My Son…In A Way, It Felt Like I Never Had Him.
I want to talk about the first three years of Cooper’s life because they were the saddest of mine. I had dreamt of becoming a mother for years. It was the thing I wanted most in my life. And then in the blink of an eye I was a mama to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. Except from day one something wasn’t right. Only, I couldn’t describe it and to make it worse it was like no one believed me. My son didn’t need me for anything besides a bottle…
Read MorePutting Your Mask On First
I’ve been having some minor medical stuff going on. Nothing huge but still slightly concerning. My fatigue and exhaustion were starting to affect my outlook on life and parenting so I broke down and went to the doctor. Of course it took me a while…like six months. I have no time for medical appointments when my son has so many of his own. You get it. I feel guilt about missing work so often already and then adding in another appointment. It’s just a lot. But like I said, my…
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