From Spouse to Caregiver

The following was written by my mother on The Alzheimer Society of Canada website

The Beginning of Love is the Courtship 
Then the Engagement VOW "Will you marry me?" 
Then the Wedding VOWS 
"To have and to hold; to cherish and love and honour one another, 
in wealth and in poverty, in sickness and health." 

And that is when a spouse turns into a Caregiver. 

Did he know at the courtship that he might one day be changing my depends? 
Did he know at the wedding that he would have to do all the driving and the cooking as I no longer can. 

I wonder would he take those same VOWS again? 

Yet I already see the answer - in the tender looks, in the nurturing. 
The Caregiver loves me more than the Spouse.

The Success Indicator

The Importance of Timing

In one of my favourite BYU Speeches, Dallin H. Oaks shared this story to emphasize the importance of timing:

...One university president had come to the end of his period of service, and another was just beginning. As a gesture of goodwill, the wise outgoing president handed his young successor three sealed envelopes. “Hold these until you have the first crisis in your administration,” he explained. “Then open the first one, and you will find some valuable advice.” 

It was a year before the new president had a crisis. When he opened the first envelope, he found a single sheet of paper on which were written the words “Blame the prior administration.” He followed that advice and survived the crisis. 

Two years later he faced another serious challenge to his leadership. He opened the second envelope and read: “Reorganize your administration.” He did so, and the reorganization disarmed his critics and gave new impetus to his leadership. 

Much later the now-seasoned president encountered his third major crisis. Eagerly he opened the last envelope, anticipating the advice that would provide the solution for his troubles. Again he found a single sheet of paper, but this time it read, “Prepare three envelopes.” It was time for new leadership.

Sesame Street gets healthy food makeover

I sometimes have a reaction to Sesame Street changing, especially when I see the Cookie Monster not eating a cookie! Because sometimes I think a show can't influence our eating habits that much. But it seems that what our favourite characters eat does influence what we eat, as this CBC article suggests. And then I am reminded of the marketing success by McDonald's where children find food wrapped in the McDonald's wrapper (compared to the original or plain packaging of the snacks) six times better!

Sam Harris - It Is Always Now

The Power of Empathy

Readers to the Rescue

An interactive way using technology to get children reading