It's our anniversary! One year ago I held my breath and released Fading Memories into the internet. It was my hope that I would reach other caregivers like myself. Wanting to provide great information, guests and inspiration was my goal but more has come from this endeavor.

First, podcasting is a lot more fun than I expected. I've "met" a lot of fantastic people even if most of them are only on the other side of a computer monitor.  When I started the podcast I didn't realize how large the caregiver support community truly was. It's exciting to be part of that community. Learning new ways to care for my Mom has been the biggest bonus to podcasting.

Getting ready to record my anniversary episode I re-listened to many of my own episodes. My very first one, Living With Alzheimer's was a home run. Talking to Pam Montana, a woman with younger-onset Alzheimer's was informative and inspirational. Not every episode has been as good as that first one, but all of them have had good information to share.

Interviewing Other Podcasters

Interviewing other podcasters has been fun and I've done that on 3 occasions. The first was Psychology in Seattle. Initially, we were supposed to discuss how to talk to kids about Alzheimer's. We ended up talking about my struggles and feelings. Fortunately, I did find someone to discuss how to talk to kids about Alzheimer's. That would be the author of Weeds in Nana's Garden, Kathryn Harrison. She was the Mom of very young children when her Mom developed the disease. Great book, great conversation.

My second podcaster interview came via a Twitter message. Cory, one of the co-hosts of the podcast Switch The Envelope was recommended to me by his partner. Cory had just recently lost his grandmother to Alzheimer's. I talked to both Cory and his Mom about how their family tackled the problem of helping their Dad/Grandfather when caregiving became too much for him.  Calling that episode The Care Committee was an easy choice because Cory's family did create a committee to tackle everything that needed handling.

His episode was released in 2 parts, because we talked so long, the week before Thanksgiving. I wanted anyone who was going to have to have tough conversations with family to hear how his family managed. I think Cory's family is a blueprint for every other family dealing with this disease.

Dogs In the News reached out to me to help spread awareness of the program Carmen's Legacy. They train dogs to be canine caregivers. I've been a dog lover/owner all my life so I was excited to learn about these dogs. What I find interesting is you, my listeners, were more interested in long term care insurance than dogs. Do yourself a favor, check out Canine Caregivers, it's a fun episode.

What's Coming in Year Two?

I could write a novel on everything that I've learned and experienced this first year but I won't. Just listen to the episode, I managed to make it less than an hour!!

Shortening up the episodes is still a goal, but some guests have so much fantastic information it's hard. I'll keep trying though.  The goal will still be to bring you the best guests I can find. Guests with great stories, information, and inspiration.

What you can expect in the next month or so is already living up to that promise.  There's a "lost" episode called Caregiver Pathways. It's about a program that takes people in the early stages out in the community to do things that give...