Field notes from the house.
Essays on slow days, gentle clinical practice, the design of meals, the work of the house, and what we are learning about later life.
When a parent with dementia starts leaving the house
Six in ten people with dementia wander at least once. Practical steps for East Metro families: doors, routines, and the first ten minutes.
ReadUsing VA Aid and Attendance to help pay for care at home
What VA Aid and Attendance pays in 2026, who qualifies, how care costs change the math, and where East Metro families can get help filing at no cost.
ReadWho can give your parent their medications at home
Minnesota rules decide whether a home caregiver can remind, set up, or actually give your parent's medications. Here is where each line falls.
ReadWorking full time while caring for a parent in Minnesota
Minnesota Paid Leave, FMLA, and earned sick and safe time explained for East Metro families caring for an aging parent while holding down a job.
ReadFree help for East Metro families arranging care
Minnesota Aging Pathways, formerly the Senior LinkAge Line, and the free help East Metro families can use before hiring anyone for care at home.
ReadHow to prevent falls in a parent's home
Minnesota ranks second in the nation for older adult fall deaths. What to change in the house, what to ask the doctor, and where to get help free.
ReadHow to choose a home care agency in Minnesota
What to ask, what a Minnesota home care license does and does not tell you, and how to look up an agency's record yourself before you sign anything.
ReadHow to talk to a parent who does not want help
Why a parent says no, four sentences that end the conversation before it starts, what tends to work instead, and what to do when they choose risk.
ReadA dementia routine worksheet for families
A blank worksheet for the five parts of a day, what to write in each, why the late afternoon needs planning hardest, and how to hand it to somebody else.
ReadWhat to ask at a hospital discharge meeting
Who is in the room, the questions that predict the next month rather than the next day, and what to do if the discharge date feels too soon.
ReadHow to Use Long-Term Care Insurance for Care at Home in Minnesota
A plain-English guide for Minnesota families: how a long-term care insurance claim for care at home actually works, from benefit triggers to reimbursement.
ReadHow families pay for care at home
Private pay, long-term care insurance, VA Aid and Attendance, and why Medicare will not cover ongoing help at home. A plain guide for East Metro families.
ReadDoes Medicare cover in-home care?
What Medicare pays for at home, what it never covers, and how Woodbury and East Metro families usually pay for ongoing personal care instead.
ReadCaregiver burnout, and what actually changes it
Burnout is not an attitude problem, it is an hours problem. What relief actually changes, what it does not, and where it comes from in the East Metro.
ReadCan Mom stay at home? Five questions that answer it
A guide for Woodbury and East Metro families deciding whether in-home care will work for a parent: the hours, the house, the gaps, the money, and plan B.
ReadHow do I know when my parent needs assisted living?
Eight honest signs your parent may need assisted living, from missed medications to small falls, and the three quiet conversations to have before a crisis.
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