Michelle has two grocery lists on her phone.
The first starts with milk, coffee, sandwich bread, and the cereal her family somehow finishes two days after she buys it.
The second starts with bananas, Mom’s favorite soup and the crackers she likes with her afternoon tea.
Michelle knows which pharmacy has Mom’s prescriptions.
She knows there’s laundry in Mom’s dryer that needs folding.
She knows her own daughter needs something for school tomorrow.
She knows Mom has an appointment Thursday morning.
And somewhere between two grocery lists, two sets of laundry and two calendars, Michelle realizes something:
She’s helping run two households.
She only lives in one of them.
There wasn’t a particular day when Michelle became a family caregiver.
Mom simply started needing a little more help.
Then a little more.
Michelle was happy to provide it. She still is.
But love doesn’t make the week any longer.
For New Orleans-area families balancing children, careers, households and the changing needs of an aging loved one, respite care can provide something remarkably practical:
A little room in the week for your own life.
More New Orleans Families Are Navigating Aging and Caregiving
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 18.1% of Orleans Parish residents are age 65 or older.
And family caregiving is happening on a tremendous scale throughout Louisiana.
AARP reports that nearly 900,000 Louisianans provide unpaid care to an adult. Those caregivers provide an average of approximately 920 hours of care each year. If those hours were paid at market rates, AARP estimates their value at about $12,900 per caregiver annually.
Those numbers tell us how much care families provide.
They don’t quite capture what that care looks like on an ordinary Wednesday.
Another load of laundry.
A reminder about medication.
Changing Mom’s sheets.
Calling about an appointment.
Stopping at the store.
Making sure there’s something easy for lunch tomorrow.
Checking whether Mom needs help getting ready for bed.
Then driving home and realizing your own laundry is still sitting exactly where you left it.
The Second Household You Never Planned to Manage
Family caregiving often grows in inches.
At first, maybe Mom only needs a ride now and then.
Then Michelle starts bringing groceries.
Soon she’s helping with household tasks.
She’s checking in more frequently.
She’s keeping track of appointments.
She notices Mom isn’t as steady getting around the house as she used to be.
She begins thinking about things she never used to think about.
Did Mom eat?
Did she remember the appointment?
Is she okay getting into the shower?
Did anyone check on her today?
Eventually, Michelle can be sitting at her own dinner table while part of her attention is still across town at Mom’s house.
That mental responsibility is part of caregiving, too.
Nationally, family caregivers now provide an average of about 27 hours of care each week, and 57% provide high-intensity care involving substantial help with daily activities or complex care needs.
No wonder a family caregiver’s own household can sometimes start receiving whatever time is left over.
What If Help Came to Mom Instead?
Some families hear “respite care” and picture sending their loved one somewhere else.
It doesn’t have to look that way.
BrightCare HomeCare provides respite care at home, allowing a family caregiver to step away while their loved one remains in familiar surroundings with care and attention.
That distinction matters.
Mom doesn’t necessarily have to pack a bag or change her entire routine just because Michelle needs an afternoon.
Instead, help comes to her.
BrightCare’s New Orleans-area services are personalized around individual needs and may include companionship, personal care, and other non-medical assistance in the home. The company’s broader New Orleans services emphasize personalized care plans and helping individuals maintain independence and well-being in familiar surroundings.
Now imagine Michelle’s Saturday differently.
Mom has support.
Michelle doesn’t need to make her usual trip over first thing in the morning.
For once, she wakes up in her own house and stays there.
A Saturday That Belongs to One Household
Michelle makes pancakes.
She sits down while they’re still warm.
That’s unusual.
Her daughter reminds her about something they need for school, and instead of saying, “We’ll see if I have time,” Michelle says, “Let’s go.”
They run the errand.
They wander into another store they absolutely did not need to visit.
They come home.
Michelle finally deals with the pile of laundry that’s been living on the chair in her bedroom.
Later, she checks her phone.
Everything with Mom is okay.
So she puts the phone back down.
Nothing dramatic happened.
And that’s exactly the point.
Respite care doesn’t need to produce a spa day, weekend getaway, or grand transformation to be valuable.
Sometimes respite means you get to finish your own laundry.
Eat with your family.
Watch your child’s game.
Clean your kitchen.
Take a nap.
Or spend an ordinary Saturday being fully present in the home where you live.
You Don’t Need to Earn a Break by Becoming Exhausted
Caregivers can become remarkably skilled at negotiating with themselves.
I’ll rest after Mom’s appointment.
I’ll make my own appointment next month.
I’ll see my friends when things settle down.
I’ll get caught up this weekend.
But caregiving isn’t necessarily a temporary interruption.
Louisiana’s nearly 900,000 family caregivers are providing an enormous amount of support that helps adults continue living at home. AARP also notes that this unpaid work can come at a cost to caregivers’ health, financial security and overall well-being.
Respite care doesn’t have to be the emergency button you press when you have nothing left.
It can be part of the plan before you reach that point.
Maybe that’s several hours every Saturday.
Maybe it’s an afternoon during a particularly demanding week.
Maybe you need additional help when work becomes busy or when your children’s schedules explode.
Maybe you simply want to know there’s someone available when you need another pair of hands.
Support can expand or change as your family’s circumstances change.
Home Is More Than a List of Things That Need Doing
There’s something else that can happen when a family caregiver receives help.
Michelle visits Mom Sunday afternoon.
She notices the laundry.
She sees something on the counter that needs putting away.
Her caregiver brain immediately begins assembling a list.
Then Mom asks: “Want to sit with me for a little while?”
Usually Michelle might answer, “In a minute.”
First she’d straighten the kitchen.
Check the refrigerator.
Start the laundry.
Ask about tomorrow.
But today, some of those things have already been handled.
So Michelle sits.
Mom starts talking about something that happened years ago.
Michelle listens.
Not while cleaning.
Not while checking her phone.
Not while mentally calculating how quickly she can get to the grocery store.
She simply listens.
Because Mom’s home isn’t only a place Michelle helps manage.
It’s still Mom’s home.
And Michelle isn’t only the person who gets things done.
She’s still her daughter.
Respite Care Can Support the Whole Family
The person receiving care isn’t the only one affected when additional support comes into the home.
Michelle’s daughter gets more of Mom’s attention.
Her spouse doesn’t automatically inherit whatever Michelle didn’t have time to finish.
Michelle gets opportunities to maintain her own appointments, friendships, routines, and health.
And when she visits Mom, there may be more room for their relationship to exist outside the caregiving checklist.
That’s why respite care isn’t necessarily about “taking time away” from someone you love.
Sometimes it’s about making the time you do spend together feel more like family time again.
Respite Care for New Orleans, Metairie and Surrounding Communities
BrightCare HomeCare provides personalized, non-medical in-home care throughout the greater New Orleans area, including New Orleans, Metairie, Jefferson, Harahan, Kenner, LaPlace, River Ridge, Destrehan, Chalmette and surrounding communities.
BrightCare specifically describes respite care as an opportunity for family caregivers to take a break while knowing their loved one is receiving care and attention at home.
Maybe you need a few hours each week.
Maybe Saturdays have become difficult.
Maybe your own household keeps getting pushed to Sunday night.
Maybe Mom’s needs have changed.
Or perhaps you’re beginning to realize that doing everything yourself isn’t the only way to show how much you care.
You don’t have to abandon one household to care for another.
How Much of Your Life Is Happening on the Second List?
Look at your week.
How many things belong to your household?
And how many belong to the person you’re caring for?
If those two lists have slowly become one enormous list with your own needs somewhere near the bottom, it may be time to add one more thing:
Help.
BrightCare HomeCare can provide personalized respite care that helps your loved one remain comfortable and supported at home while giving you room to tend to your own household, relationships, responsibilities, and well-being.
Because caring for someone else’s home shouldn’t mean slowly disappearing from your own.
If you or an aging loved one are considering 24-Hour Home Care in Jefferson, LA, please contact the caring staff at BrightCare HomeCare – New Orleans today! (504) 300-0998
BrightCare HomeCare – New Orleans provides exceptional senior home care in New Orleans, Metairie, Jefferson, Harahan, Kenner, LaPlace, River Ridge, Destrehan, Chalmette, and the surrounding areas.
Through a personalized care plan, BrightCare HomeCare provides the necessary services and care to cater to your unique personal and health needs. With us, we ensure around-the-clock services and supervision to help achieve optimum health and wellness.
We are a top provider of home care services in Lafayette, Youngsville, Broussard, New Iberia, Breaux Bridge, Carencro, Opelousas, Sunset, Crowley, Abbeville, Scott, Cecilia, Port Barre, Iota, and the surrounding areas.
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