The chance to be a caretaker
As I sit here at my kitchen table writing this column, Christmas 2024 is less than two weeks away. And I am still struggling to find my holiday spirit.
This has been a difficult year for me in so many ways, not the least of which centers around my dad. He turns 87 next week, and his health is failing.
He has had increasing health problems for the last few years, but this year he has really begun to fade. Last year Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and back in April this year, I moved back to my hometown and back into the house in which I grew up, because it had become obvious that Mom was not really going to be able to be Dad’s sole day-to-day caregiver.
My sister has done an amazing job looking after the both of them, but her job as a teacher and her own day-to-day life on top of being a long-distance caregiver to our parents was really wearing her down.
