Due to the death of Ronald Reagan, suddenly there is attention to the plight
of caregivers, caregiver burnout, alzheimer's disease itself.....all things
related.

It can only be a good thing, but I find it a little ironic that it takes the
death of a high profile personality to draw attention to these issues that
affect so very many people.

The everyday routine of a caregiver is so relentlessly stressful and so mind
bending, that only now that Ida is in a nursing home (after a bit more than
three years) do I finally start to pay attention to the question of what I
am going to do with the rest of my life.

I always wished that more people would be able to understand what it means
to care for a relative at home, and how it affects us and why we do it in
the first place.

Perhaps the attention given to the passing of Ronald Reagan, will stimulate
some greater interest in these issues.

Or perhaps it will just be gone as soon as the funeral is over with?   I
hope not, but that is probably how it will be.