Wonderful Advice Where You Least Expect It

You might wonder why I read The New Old Age blog, about caring for aging parents, when mine, though getting older every year, are in no way elderly or aged.  They are, perhaps, healtheir and in better shape than when I was a kid at home; I guess it's just one of the miracles of grandparenthood.  

Anyway, I read it because the blog, while specifically about the sandwich generation, contains advice and wisdom for all:  end of life issues which we should all face before the end of life; how to care for the people you love in good times and in bad; ways to make the bad times better.  Today's post contained advice the author had received and successfully utilized while caring for her mother in the last years of her life.  I think it works for parents of young children, too:

• "Just don't hurry."  Even though you feel like you have more to do, don't rush it.
• When she was wearing herself out in caregiving:  “You know, your mother could live another 20 years. And if she does, you won’t."  
  
• "Be a duck" and let criticism and negative emotions roll off your back like water.
• You're children are watching what you do and learning from it.
• "People communicate all the time without words."  Try reaching out in nonverbal ways, such as shared activities.