Posts by L.E. Summers

🌿 When Your Worlds Move at Different Speeds It often starts with something small. You’re walking together… and they stop.You’re getting ready to leave… and they’re still on the first step.You ask a question… and the answer takes longer than it used to. At first, you might gently encourage:“Come on, we’re almost ready.”“Let’s go, we…

🌿 When Trust Begins to Shift It can be one of the more surprising and painful changes. Your loved one, who once felt safe with others… begins to question them. They may say: Sometimes the suspicion is directed at strangers.Sometimes—more painfully—it’s directed at you. And in those moments, it can feel confusing, even hurtful. Because…

🌿 It’s Not Just What They Forget There’s a moment many caregivers recognize—but rarely talk about right away. It’s not when they forget a name.Or repeat a question.Or misplace something important. It’s when they start to feel… different. Maybe they were once outgoing, and now they’re withdrawn.Once patient, now easily frustrated.Once warm and expressive, now…

🌿 The Story You’ve Heard Before It might be a story you could recite yourself by now. The same childhood memory.The same work story.The same moment they return to—again and again. And each time, they tell it with the same expression… the same pauses… the same feeling. You listen. You nod. You respond. But inside,…

🌿 A Quiet Kind of Loss It doesn’t always happen all at once. One day, they still reach for their favorite book.Another day, it sits untouched. The music they used to hum along to plays in the background… but now, there’s no reaction.The hobbies that once filled their time—gardening, knitting, watching a favorite show—slowly fade…

When caring for someone with dementia, it’s easy to focus on tasks — medications, meals, appointments, routines. But often, what shapes your loved one’s comfort the most isn’t what you do… it’s the space around them. For someone living with dementia, the world can feel loud, confusing, and overwhelming. Sounds blur together. Light feels too…

If you’ve ever felt like you can’t move from room to room without your loved one right behind you, you’re not imagining things. They follow you into the kitchen.They sit outside the bathroom door.They stand nearby while you fold laundry, cook, or even rest. This behavior — often called “shadowing” — is incredibly common in…

Few things wear a caregiver down like disrupted sleep. The house is quiet. You’re exhausted. And just as you begin to drift off, you hear movement — footsteps in the hallway, a door opening, a voice calling out. Night after night, sleep becomes fragmented, uncertain, and tense. Sleep changes are incredibly common in dementia. And…

There are days when caregiving feels quiet and invisible.Days when no one claps, no one says thank you, and no one truly sees how much effort it takes just to get through the morning. This letter is for you on those days. 💙 You Are Carrying More Than Anyone Knows You are managing appointments, medications,…

Once you’ve built your care team, the next step is learning how to keep everyone connected.Because even the most willing helpers can get off track without clear, kind communication. Good communication isn’t just about sharing updates — it’s about creating trust, preventing misunderstandings, and ensuring your loved one gets the best care possible. Whether your…