It is Sunday and around the time when I normally sit down to write my weekly blog post. However it doesn’t feel like a Sunday and I don’t think tomorrow is going to feel like a normal Monday morning either. We are not in ‘normal’ times.  I had a ‘Zoom’ face to face on line call with some friends who had recently returned from abroad and were now in self – quarantine.  ‘Normally’ we would have had  dinner together to catch up but that is not happening.

Meetings, client visits, holidays and even family celebratory dinners are  being cancelled. Truly, what  a difference a week makes! But hold on-  while we are living in different circumstances, the  business  of caring for others continues. Not only does it continue, but it is more important than ever.  Many of us now need to rely on others to provide the care, as visiting family are no longer welcome in most retirement and long term care facilities.  Access to care has been limited and consistency of care even more so.  So we need to take a moment to thank these hard working caregivers, personal support workers and nurses who now are truly going above and beyond to ensure our loved ones are being looked after- in our parent’s  homes, whether it is in their family home, a  retirement suite or another facility. We need to ensure their ‘day to day’ continues and is as normal as possible.  I know that this is not easy.

In last week’s blog I mentioned  my friend and colleague Ron, who is a caregiving champion.  He has been teledining  for years and he will be hosting a number of virtual dinner parties.  Please consider joining Ron and his guests (including me discussing comfort foods) for a virtual meal together.  I also posted some tips from  NICE  on ways to keep  seniors socially connected while being physically distanced.  I would love to hear your stories and ways you are managing. Stay well and please stay connected.