Photo credit John-Mark Smith

Like most adults, I’ve second-guessed many of my own decisions. While most were made with my own future in mind, that all changed when I became a family caregiver for an ever-increasing number of older adults – a time that also coincided with raising two young children, one with health challenges.
A dying aunt, a budding son: My aunt Marion, who had no children of her own, was in the hospital dying of cancer. While my parents visited her much of the time, I’d been close to her since I first learned to walk, so I tried to see her as much as possible.
One afternoon, it had become evident that Marion was unlikely to last another day. Still, we both acknowledged that it was important for me to attend my oldest son's first band concert that evening, where he was to play a solo.
With my aunt's blessing, I went to my son’s concert and...

Continue reading on Hero Health to read about some of my experiences in second-guessing and how being so hard on ourselves is counterproductive:

Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “I hold onto your book as a life preserver and am reading it slowly on purpose...I don't want it to end.” ...Craig William Dayton, Film Composer