VOI - Voices of Intention

10/02/2025

Plum jam can boost connection between you and your loved one!

This kitchen activity does more than fill jars — it creates confidence, connection, and calm for care partners and their loved ones.”

In my latest post in "The Brainwave Dispatch", I share how a handful of wild plums turned into a powerful reminder: everyday tasks can strengthen memory, ease stress, and build moments of joy.

🥣And you can engage your loved one in any or all aspects of the process! YOU CHOOSE!

✨ Read the full story + get the activity steps by clicking here:
https://thebrainwavedispatch.substack.com/p/a-kitchen-activity-care-partners

09/26/2025

🧠💜 “Alzheimer’s steals memories. But the real heartbreak? How it steals voices.”

Today, more than 6.9 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s — and over 11 million care partners walk the journey beside them. We’ve poured billions into research, yet families are still left asking: How do we live this today?

While there’s no cure yet, research like Dr. Dale Bredesen’s ReCODE program gives us hope. Lifestyle choices — what we eat, how we move, how we sleep, how we manage stress — can change the trajectory of brain health. Even small shifts can make a meaningful difference in our “healthspan.”

👉 But prevention is only part of the story. For families already facing Alzheimer’s, the question is more immediate, "How do we find calm, connection, and purpose right now?" and "What do I do to keep my children and grandchildren from getting this?"

That’s the question at the heart of my business, VOI (Voices of Intention). My mission is to amplify the voices too often lost — the care partners and families already living this reality. I bring tools, strategies, and education to help people find steadiness and intention, even when Alzheimer’s wears the face of a spouse, a parent, or a friend.

💜 This Alzheimer’s Month, I invite you to share: What’s one thing you wish more people truly understood about dementia?

09/25/2025

09/24/2025

Only the Brave Survive...
Yes, that's YOU!!

Seriously, some days, the “mess” isn’t just on the desk or in your house — it’s in your head and your heart.
‼️“What am I even doing?”
⁉️“When will this get easier?”
🏋🏼‍♀️“Why does it feel like too much?”

I asked those questions ALL day today... And I know care partners ask them too.

That’s ego talking — craving certainty and control.

But ya know what? The truth is whether you’re building a business or caring for someone you love, the messy middle doesn’t mean failure. It means you’re in the thick of growth, stretching, showing up, and loving even when it’s hard. And isn't it interesting that we can (and do) love what's hard? Sometimes even THE most difficult thing we've ever committed to?

When my Ego showed up, all puffy and "in my face", my Soul stepped up and challenged me to be creative, to connect, to laugh, and sometimes… to eat (or at least consider eating) a giant hunk of cake with gooey, melty ice cream. 🍰🍨

When we allow our Souls to be heard and we zoom out to look from a place without judgment, the middle is also where some of the BEST stuff lives...

Things like:
💜 Shared memories that make you miss someone deeply — but also feel closer to them.
🏆 Small wins that show you you’re so much stronger than you thought.
☀️ Sunshine, dogs, moments of joy squeezed between the cracks.
📩 And even new opportunities and perspectives where and when you least expect them.
💪🏼Bravery and our KNOWING we CAN and WILL

So yes, days are messy. But the mess is not meaningless. It doesn't mean failure.
It's truly just the middle (and as one of my most wonderful friends says, "it's the meantime") — and it’s where compassion, connection, and magic are made.

👉 What’s one win you’ve found in your own messy middle this week?

09/24/2025

Have you ever walked away from a conversation feeling smaller, not stronger? That’s what happens when we’re talked at instead of talked to. This week’s Brainwave Dispatch dives into why listening matters more than credentials — and how it can change everything in caregiving, leadership, and life.

Find it here: http://thebrainwavedispatch.substack.com/

09/24/2025

The kitchen is often called the heart of the home ❤️
For people living with dementia, it can still be a place of purpose and connection.

Here’s the challenge: cluttered counters, too many choices, or complicated tools can make it overwhelming instead of inviting for the person with dementia and frightening and stressful for the carepartner.

👉 That’s why using a Montessori-inspired approach in the kitchen is so fun and curious. With a few simple shifts, we can transform it into a space where dignity, contribution, and joy still live:

🥄 Simplify choices
🌈 Add contrast
👩‍🍳 Offer familiar actions & roles

Because the truth is: a Montessori kitchen isn’t about perfection — it’s about connection. ✨
Every small contribution builds confidence, calm, and purpose.

✨ Save this post if you’d like inspiration the next time you’re in the kitchen.
👉 Follow along for more Living Spaces ideas you use in your home!

09/23/2025

This is worth paying attention to...

COVID-19 has been repeatedly associated with cognitive decline, and its multiple pathophysiological mechanisms—such as widespread microthrombi, systemic inflammation, and autoimmunity—are all risk factors for cognitive compromise. However, Azelastine nasal spray could cut COVID-19 infections by 70% and also reduce incidence of the common cold. Research is ongoing, but this could be an effective way to protect your health. https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/azelastine-nasal-spray-covid-19-infection/

09/22/2025

Today's One Happy Thing... Rain

What can you and your loved one connect with related to rain? Use all of your senses and take what is normally mundane and turn it into amazing!

Heres the challenge... what is the FIRST thing that pops into your mind about rain? Share it below 👇👇 and then take that thought or idea and connect with your loved one.

I can't wait to hear all about it!

Send a message to learn more

09/20/2025

Today I was reminded of something so simple… and yet often missed because of time constraints and productivity expectations.

A dear friend (I’ll call her Joan) had her first visit with a new psychologist. Let’s just say, the experience left her feeling worse than when she walked in — and she was nervous and anxious about the visit to begin with.

This professional (with a list of credentials 🙄 a mile long) spoke AT Joan, not TO her. Used abbreviations about Joan's condition that came too fast to process. Dismissed her story. Didn’t slow down to check if Joan understood new facts and details about her care. Never wrote anything down or asked if Joan needed a moment to take notes.

And at the end of the session? No clear next step. No goals. No expectations. Not even a next visit.

Just a verdict: “You cannot get better without medication.”
Wait, what?

Maybe that’s true. Maybe medication is an important piece of Joan’s puzzle. But here’s the thing: if a professional doesn’t listen, connect, and meet clients where they’re at — at the time of diagnosis, in the middle of the process ,wherever — don’t you risk losing them before you ever have a chance to help?

When dementia is part of the story, this becomes even more critical. Listening isn’t optional. It’s essential.

When I heard this scenario, I was appalled. I sat for a moment and contemplated a session I'd had earlier in the day with one of my own clients. There was such a contrast. We slowed down to her pace, not mine. We checked her understanding of new ideas and procedures. We wrote things down. I invited her to explain concepts back to me, in her own words, so she felt secure — and I had confidence she understood the new information, its importance, and her homework.

She was heard. She was confident. She left feeling empowered, not diminished.

Credentials matter. But they don’t heal.
Empathy and connection do.
Listening does.
Meeting someone where they’re at does.

This doesn’t mean we coddle our clients or do the work for them — no siree Bob. But compassion and connection make the road we both travel a little less bumpy. Her success is my success... not the other way around.

And after all, isn’t that what true service is about?

👉 Have you ever felt “talked at” instead of “heard” — by a professional, a leader, or even a friend? How did that experience affect you?

09/18/2025

Good Morning Everyone! My Brainwave Dispatch has dropped another blog post! Come on over and have a read... 😊

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How Curiosity can become Real Connection