Archive
Everything published here so far, grouped by subject and listed newest first within each group.
Paperwork
The paperwork drawer, and how to stop dreading it
Getting a relative's documents into one findable order, and keeping them that way.
One calendar several people can read
Why a schedule kept in one person's head eventually fails, and what a shared version needs to hold.
Sharing the Load
Dividing the work by task, not by goodwill
How one relative becomes the default carer, and what a fairer division actually looks like on paper.
The conversation that keeps getting postponed
How a family actually runs a practical conversation about care, and why it should end in writing.
Not the tasks, the interruptions
A non-clinical look at the recurring practical difficulties carers describe, and why they are rarely the ones asked about.
Respite and Visits
Arranging time away is logistics, not luxury
The practical shape of arranging a break: the handover note, the trial afternoon, and planning the return.
The hour before somebody arrives
What a visit to the house actually asks of the household, and what to do with the notes afterwards.
The first thing that gets dropped
On holding ordinary commitments while caring, and treating them as fixed rather than negotiable.
History and Reflection
The work that leaves no trace
Considered opinion on why the coordinating parts of care are the least visible and among the most tiring.
How unpaid family care became a subject
A social history of care within households: assumed for centuries, discussed publicly only recently.
Naming a role people were already doing
On the language used for the role, and how the available words shape what is expected of it.