Your Proactive Caregiver Advocate: Dr. Cynthia Speaks!
Topic: A Caregiver Blogging While on Vacation
Greeting from Toledo, Ohio! I was born and raised here. I attended public schools; Lincoln Elementary, Robinson Junior High, and Scott High School…Go Bulldogs! There is always something about returning to where you grew up. I am not totally sure what it is. I suspect it is the memories, especially if they were positive. Family, friends, classmates, and neighbors have come, left, and died. It’s the circle of life.
So much has changed since I left Toledo in 1985. Neighborhoods have changed. New businesses have erupted, old ones are gone, and homes are dilapidated, while others remain well kept. Our family home is no more. I am still processing that reality, even today.
Wonder Bread, the bakery with the best smelling bread, is gone! I can still smell the bread baking.
Freeways have five lanes instead of three, and this new thing is called roundabouts, where all I can say is to watch out for the other drivers...just weird!
Let's talk about my favorite Cain’s Marcelle Potato Chips, established in 1949? I ate them almost every day. Gone!!!
In some areas, health and wellness have become a priority. Toledo has developed a medical center on the grounds very close to where I attended nursing school, The Toledo Hospital School of Nursing. ProMedica Toledo Hospital is the name. I did my clinical rotations at Toledo Hospital. There are walking trails, bike trails, and functioning parks where children can run and play. Remember, back in the day, which is all we did…Run and play! Remember the street light message? You better be in this house by the time the streetlights come on! Technology was non-existence (that is another story for another day). I may as well mention the terrible reality of crime. I know we can do better if only we are kind to each other.
I suppose you are wondering how to connect caregiving to this conversation. Caregivers have many areas of perspectives. One perspective is memories. Did you know memories are journals of living? When you go down memory lane, it tells you that living life has afforded one to age. Age suggests that one has experienced the world around them. So, as we age, things will happen that may require, one day, that we rely on others to care for us. As Your Proactive Caregiver Advocate, blogging while on vacation is a way to self-reflect on self, community, and others. Be safe! Be well!
