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.

Baby its Getting Cold – Wrap ‘em Up!

Sweaters and leaves

The fall weather brings cooler temperatures and while you the caregiver may welcome a little chill, your older loved one may be downright uncomfortable. There are a number of issues to consider as the weather turns colder. Keep in mind older bodies need a little more care. Get Out the Blankets, Throws and Sweaters Even […]

Love Notes and Labels

Love notes

Caregiving is a difficult job no matter what the circumstances, but if you’re caring for an aging loved one with dementia the task gets a lot harder. My daughter and I used to “dad-sit” for a friend of ours while she worked. John was a pleasant man with wonderful stories of his life in San […]

Fun Things To Do During Fall

Fall fruit/veggies and leaves

There are so many ways to include your older loved one in fun fall activities, especially since the weather is cooler and the leaves are beginning to turn. You can start by asking your elder what activities they enjoyed when they were young. Perhaps they helped with the apple harvest or enjoyed picking out that […]

Healing Through Art and Creativity

Senior Couple Sitting At Outdoor Table Painting Landscape

Getting over an illness or dealing with an on-going condition can drain the body and the soul. It’s times like these when we need to be fed really well. We need to fill that void inside us with something really good. Oh, if it were just food we needed, that would be simple. What we […]

Family Recipes – The Ties That Bind

vintage tin recipe box with a handwritten recipe for candy showing in the front.

Food has a way of bringing people together, especially family members. Do you remember that pot of steaming chicken and dumplings your granny used to make? How about the fragrance of homemade bread wafting through the kitchen? How did my granny make her famous stuffing for turkey or turn sweet potatoes into a gooey delight? […]

What I Have Learned to Value Most

What I’ve Learned to Value Most

Time teaches us many things. I’ve learned that every season of life has new lessons to teach me. You never know it all and you’re never too old to learn new ones. I’ve learned lessons from my kids and my grandkids but the most important lessons I’ve learned have been from my folks. People Matter […]

Caring for the Caregiver

Friends holding cup of coffee

Caregiving can take a toll on all those who love and care for the older loved one in need of help. Perhaps those who are quickly forgotten are the spouses, children and friends of the caregiver who find themselves having to change their lives almost as much as the caregiver herself or himself. Suddenly that pivotal […]

5 Misconceptions About Aging

Grandpa at graduation with grandkids

I’ve always been told to be careful about assumptions. It’s really a wise recommendation when it comes to aging. Generalities that once might have held a thimble of truth have been blown out of the water by the Greatest Generation and the beloved Baby Boomers. When social security was first signed into law, not many […]

When Your Helping Hurts

african american woman with headache, looking sad

There are so many emotions that go along with caregiving. We’re trying to help. We’re trying to do what’s best for our loved one. When you add in the dementia element, the caring gets a whole lot harder. I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here, but it can get downright exasperating. You’re trying to […]