Holidays

It is the holiday season over here at the moment and many go away. Up our drive one couple are in India for 6 weeks, another couple have just returned after 10 days in Australia, one family have been staying over on the Peninsula and the other couple left today for a couple of weeks on Australia's West Coast. I guess many people think that for someone like me life is just one big holiday.

For caregivers without others to take over completely holidays as such are often not an option but you can do other things.

1. Go for a walk
2. Go for a swim
3. Find a quiet place to read a book
4. Meet a friend for coffee - I try to do this once a week; the highlight of my week
5. Have a 'nanny nap'
6. Do some gardening
7. Sit quietly, on your own for a while and clear your head
8. Do voluntary work in the community - I am going to be teaching literacy skills to prisoners this year endeavouring to up skill them to enable them to get work on release (and a car licence)

These things do not need to be for long periods (sometimes not always possible) but even 10 minutes out can be helpful.

Make your own list and keep adding to it.

Here we are allocated some days each year for respite care when the Alzheimer's person is taken care of in a rest home. I use these days to get in a couple of weekends to see my grandchildren and also to do some contract work which gives me money as well as a break from dealing with the Alzheimer's - not exactly a r&r I know but it certainly serves two purposes.

Unfortunately caregiver burn out is serious and common so it is important for caregivers to take care of themselves.