Author Archives: Karen Everett Watson

About Karen Everett Watson

Karen Everett Watson is a gerontologist and a freelance blogger/journalist. Her parents, grown children and 10 grandchildren keep her busy learning about life while living in the Sacramento Valley with her chickens and dogs.

Have You Become Your Parents’ Parent? Join the Crowd!

Parents

Most of our lives we’ve looked to our parents for advice and answers to questions. Now we’re the ones having to come up with the solutions. It happened gradually. I think it started around the time my parents hit their 70s. The phone started ringing every day. Don’t get me wrong. I love talking to […]

Afternoon Tea — A Lovely Tradition

High Tea

Want to make every day special for your older loved one and for you? Well start enjoying an afternoon tea time and make it a time to look forward to each day. So many of our lives are filled with work, hurried meals, appointments to keep and chores to get done that we don’t stop […]

Fun with Foodie Grannies

Baked Goods

Let’s face it, food is one of the daily pleasures of life. Just ask your older loved one! If you doubt that, you must not be a fan of the Food Network or Cook. Now who doesn’t like to visit with the Pioneer Woman, Ina Garten or Rachel Ray? Chances are your mom or dad […]

Disasters – Being Prepared May Save Your Older Loved One

Hurricane

Yesterday the nation heard about the eight frail elderly people who perished from heat exhaustion and dehydration. They had survived the hurricane and their care facility was right next door to a huge hospital, yet it seems that no one checked on them, at least not anyone who helped. What Went Wrong? It was reported […]

Caregiving — Taking Care to Survive and Thrive

Climbing a mountain

Caregiving — it may seem like a sprint, but more often it’s a marathon. You don’t want to just survive the whole process, you want to enjoy the journey and thrive through it all. Impossible, you might say? Well, it’s certainly not easy, but taking care of yourself is the key. Your physical, mental and […]

Words That Heal

Broken Heart

Family — it’s a simple concept yet very complicated when it comes to the different relationships within one. Whether it’s past hurts between siblings or between children and their parents, it takes a lot of love and forgiveness to move on and make things better. Emotions run high when our parents are in need. It’s […]

Preserving Their Dignity

Old eyes

Not every senior needs our help in making sure they’re treated with kindness and respect. Some still have a lot of moxie and can take up for themselves. But the older we get and the frailer we become the more some people ignore and discount older people all together. Things are changing but not quickly […]

The Incredible Blessings of Your Parents’ Friends and Neighbors

Neighbors

When you become a caregiver, you’ve never been in more need of people who will have your back. Sometimes we overlook the friends and neighbors that are in our parents’ lives. If your family is fortunate enough to have good friends and neighbors, these are the people you can count on and you should thank […]