Monthly Archives: April 2012

Our elders: a resource we’re wasting.

Posted on April 30, 2012 by dgermann

Our elders: a resource we’re wasting. :- Doug.

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turn our heads when lost

Posted on April 29, 2012 by dgermann

We often get stuck in what’s not working, what’s the problem. Let us resolve to turn our heads when lost and see what is working. In our families, when we are hurt or afraid and want to pull away, we … Continue reading →

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Untangling the emotions

Posted on April 28, 2012 by dgermann

Yesterday I met with two sisters to converse about care for Mom. The meeting grew heated; one was dog tired. The sisters have a need to continue as family. Both need to find a way to deal with their emotions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Long-Term Care and nursing homes | Leave a comment

We do not die alone

Posted on April 27, 2012 by dgermann

We do not die alone. We die in the midst of us. In most settings, the person is ripped from the cloth, leaving stretched and torn threads. We all die a bit, we all contract, we might expand. If the … Continue reading →

Posted in Death and living while dying, Family, Grieving | Leave a comment

Being part of a good death

Posted on April 26, 2012 by dgermann

What does it mean to you to have a good death? What does it mean to a family to be part of a good death? Given the people you are given in your family, what might a good death be? … Continue reading →

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Playing well together

Posted on April 26, 2012 by dgermann

In families we love to devise ways to play well together. Does more experience with playing together help us? Does more experience with playing well together help us? :- Doug.

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Do we want to let them?

Posted on April 25, 2012 by dgermann

Out of fear some people do not want to have the conversation about care of Mother or Father at end of life. What is the antidote to fear? Love. How can love step in? Firmly? Some other way? What would … Continue reading →

Posted in Conversation, Death and living while dying, Emergency/Crisis Medical, Family, Healing and Wholeness | Leave a comment

Affording you as client

Posted on April 25, 2012 by dgermann

If at the start you have to ask what a service will cost, maybe I cannot afford you as a client. Maybe you are so hung up on money that you will be blinded to doing what you need. That … Continue reading →

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Don’t count on the VA….

Posted on April 24, 2012 by dgermann

Don’t count on the Veteran’s Administration or even Medicaid for all your Long-Term Care. You still need love: a kind touch, a cold wash cloth. :- Doug.

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Given Mom’s dementia or decline….

Posted on April 24, 2012 by dgermann

Given this—Dad’s dementia or Mom’s decline—how can we fit together, now? What are our special gifts, needs, fears and visions, and what’s possible with us? :- Doug.

Posted in Family, Healing and Wholeness, Long-Term Care and nursing homes | Leave a comment

Indiana Premier: Last Will & Embezzlement

Posted on April 23, 2012 by dgermann

Friends– Come out and see, without cost, the Indiana premier of the documentary (featuring Mickey Rooney), “Last Will and Embezzlement.” Wednesday evening, May 30, 2012, at the O’Laughlin Auditorium at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN. Doors open 6:00 pm, … Continue reading →

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Is wanting to die at home unrealistic?

Posted on April 23, 2012 by dgermann

Yesterday I saw a writing which suggested that wanting to die at home is looking at things through rose colored glasses, that many families are overwhelmed with caring for someone at home and prefer in the end to have the … Continue reading →

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What can we find?

Posted on April 23, 2012 by dgermann

What can we find in elder conversation? :- Doug.

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Will me a secret

Posted on April 22, 2012 by dgermann

Will me a secret Playful one Will me a piece of junk That I have the fun Of figuring why you’d Will me that Secret :- Doug.

Posted in Poetry, Wills | Leave a comment

Retirement: bringing family closer

Posted on April 22, 2012 by dgermann

There is another image coming for me today: retirement, our own later years, turning them purposely toward bringing family closer together. We work and play with these our family members, children, grandchildren, sister, brother, individually and together. With renewed intention … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Eldering, Family | Leave a comment

I am not the expert

Posted on April 21, 2012 by dgermann

I am not the expert. I am not here to teach you anything. You are the experts. You will teach—and invent me and each other. :- Doug.

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Financial planning these days….

Posted on April 21, 2012 by dgermann

Much financial planning these days is grounded in an unstated end game of self sufficiency. It’s all about me. We will not rely upon our children in our retirement, we will do what we want. We will not even involve … Continue reading →

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