Becoming your mother's caretaker as she ages isn't easy, especially when you are still raising your own children.

Slow Disappearing Act

It's a road I've been on with my mother for a long time. Recently, she suffered a stroke and we've had to get used to a new "normal."  

Hope you'll check it out and follow.

Today I took the kids to see my Grandmother, or as she likes them to call her, "G.G."

G.G.'s house has been in the same spot since my Dad was a child; right in the middle of a city that grew in size around it.

There comes a time in every person’s life when they come to the realization that they have to wave that proverbial white flag. We all have that moment when we come to the understanding that while we may have our pride, we just can’t do it alone and that help is not only required but mandatory. I had that moment, and not only did it hit me but I crashed through the barricades into a brick wall.

I like to believe that I’m super-woman and can do everything; I have a demanding…

Technology isn’t easy. We all know that. But technology is extra difficult for those who didn’t grow up with it. My parents are no different than anyone else in their age group. They don’t like change, and technological change is an even harder pill to swallow.

My parents have never had a passion for technology.

I remember in the 1980’s when my dad purchased a VCR. It was one of the most technological events in the history of the Gunn household. We could actually rent movies…

LUNCH WITH TWO WOMEN NAMED JOAN

When she was ten, my mother met a girl who shared her first name. They quickly became best friends and stayed so for the next 75 years. Together they shared schoolyard memories, weddings, and years of family get-togethers.

But in the year and a half since my father…

My whole life, everyone has told me I looked like my Dad.  We both had blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin as opposed to my Mom and sister’s big brown eyes and darker complexion.  Funny enough about 7 years ago, I had to start wearing glasses to read…

Yes, you read that right.  Some well meaning grandparents I know spent an afternoon at their local gun shop persusing the stun guns as a graduation gift for their granddaughter who is off to college this fall.

Here's the post.  Hope you enjoy it. 

Grandma, Grandpa and the Gun Shop

Good times!

http://perfectlyimperfectmomma.com/2012/07/24/when-cupcakes-call/

According to the 2010 Census, almost 5 million children live in a grandparent headed household. Most of these are either the grandparent raising the grandchild alone or the child’s family moved back in with the parents. There are numerous reasons this could happen, and it’s likely you know someone in this situation.



In our case, we’ve found we have a lot of well meaning friends and more often than not acquaintances who feel led to speak their mind when finding out our situation.…

Papi et Mamie au parc

These are my mother’s parents…Papi and Mamie. They’ve been gone now for over 20 years and I miss them with an intensity that makes my chest ache. Their loss still sits closely and I accept that it always will. I cry unexpectedly when I think of them, but that’s followed closely by goofy…

Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever.  

Author Unknown

A moment this week to pay homage to those special 'extra' parents who mark our lives so…

Don’t Forget about Grandma and Grandpa in the rush of the holiday season!

This last weekend was a whirl wind of activity.  We had 2 girls…

I’ve mentioned before how thankful I am that my kids get to see both sets of grandparents fairly regularly.  We live next door to my in-laws and my own parents live just a little over an hour away.

Growing up I never really got to know my mom’s parents; in fact, I really don’t know much about her family and growing up with 13 (or was it 14?) kids.  Eventually, I know, she went to live with her oldest sister, and as a child I was blessed with Christmas every year at my Aunt Bert’s…

Learning about your loved one through other's eyes can be the best part of funeral.

You Never Really Know Someone Until Their Funeral

As a child, I remember arriving at my paternal grandparents house every year on Christmas day to find stacks and stacks of The Night Before Christmas books. My grandmother collected them, so she picked up copies during she and my granddaddy's travels and friends brought her copies from their own travels. As I got older, I remember scouring bookstores everywhere I went looking for an edition she didn't have to add to her collection. By the time she died on Dec. 17, 2003, she had…

Photo credit: Nutsonline.com

They are a simple, sweet-tasting fruit, but over this past weekend I…