About
For the past eight years, I have lived with and taken care of an elderly friend who suffered a stroke that left her partially paralyzed on the left side and plagued with severe short-term memory loss. As a single, childless woman, my new role in life was, to say the least, “challenging.” By 2008, a number of those challenges coalesced to the point that I knew major changes were in order.
- My housemate’s struggles with anger and depression in the face of physical and mental impairment colored every aspect of our lives.
- Limited financial resources demanded efficient cost-cutting measures, careful budgeting, and judgment calls with which I was unfamiliar and unsure.
- My only recourse was to work from home, but I knew nothing about starting and maintaining a freelance business.
- I was physically out of shape and 50 lbs. overweight, endangering my own health and my ability to care for my friend.
These were, and in some instances still are, the hurdles in my life’s journey. I lost the weight. I’m in excellent physical condition. I have a home business. And, like thousands of other Americans, I fight the good fight against economic forces that are, largely, beyond my control. I cannot fix my housemate, but I can strive to understand her and to empathize with her own path.
The Journey For Us is really just a place to ruminate on the road, a place to stop, lean on the fence, and kick around some ideas with whoever happens along. I’ve learned that part of the journey is spiritual, part is practical, and a whole lot of it is just to keep on bailing even when you think you’re standing on the deck of the Titanic.