The Knock On My Door–A Poem

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The Knock On My Door

Flushed with excitement, she asked 

for pen and paper to capture

greatness ready to unfurl. 

 

We had never met before,

but I knew her poems, that look

in her eyes mirroring my own.

 

I welcomed her in, offerings

placed on the kitchen table, 

as, I quietly tried not to stare.

 

She held her pen 

above the blank paper

like a word midsentence.

 

Then a whispering light

of energy flowed. The words 

streamed as sunshine in a dark room.

 

Ink on paper, consciousness

flowing from the forgotten

onto the threads of trees 

 

to illuminate the stargazing me,

breath held, the tension

or intention to swim

 

in the magic of connection,

poets prompting each other on

while sharing a pot of tea.

 

     The vastness of mysteries,

     the sacredness of passage,

     the unity of desire

 

     pulse from our hearts,

     bleeding onto paper,

     lettered in black and blue.

 

     Our fragile, fleeting

     stanzas become markers

     of our shared human destiny.

 

     And when we wait

     for the knock on the door,

     we may answer to find 

 

     a star-filled universe spilling open 

     on our doormats. And we, full

     of wonder, invite it in for a cup of tea.

®2025 Delaina J. Miller  

 

 

Music is Magic–Amplify Joy

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Hiya;

One of the common discussions we had with fellow caregivers during The Heartland Caregiving Conference by Sandwiched KC,  was the magical effect music has on our loved ones. We were mostly referencing how engaging sing-alongs are, and how songs help, especially with dementia, bridge the mind’s time gap to happier and fulfilling memories and moments. 

As vibrational beings we have the power to amplify joy and our health with simple sounds. The gentle tide of breath, the unassuming hum, and the practice of laughter, have all been scientifically proven to help our bodies reduce depression, stress, anxiety, and even boost our immune systems.

Our caregiver journey began, like many, suddenly. Communication was the biggest challenge we faced helping our loved one. So we did what we do, we researched solutions. Kristin found stroke recovery activities and started creating activity sheets.  Delaina began online sound therapy classes and now creates handpan music.

We both love how music calms and connects our loved ones. And how it helps us tune-in to our wellbeing and joy. Some of our daily favorites can be found here: Centerpoint’s Holosync, Hello Caregiving’s sing-a-longs and more, and Delaina’s various musical offerings. 

Thank you for being in our lives and letting us be in yours. We hope we have helped you in some way find your vibe. Also sharing is caring so please share your go to music hubs with us.

In love and gratitude,
Delaina and Kristin

Building Connections

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Hiya;

Oh my gosh what a great time we had at the Sandwiched KC’s Heartland Caregiving Conference. It has been a long time since we sponsored a table at an event. And Rachel Hiles and her crew at Sandwiched KC did a wonderful job. The event was full of nurturing breakout sessions as well as vendors and sponsors like us that sincerely support caregivers on the journey.

And at the end, thanks to the genius that is Danielle Ate the Sandwich, we created a song together. Caregivers wrote caregiving words that are important to them on a poster and Danielle put the words to a chorus and created this years Caregiver Anthem. How incredible is that?

Rachel said that her reason for doing all of this was so that caregivers don’t feel alone. We think that is what attracted us to the event in the first place. Caregiving can feel isolating and many times (a day) caregivers feel underappreciated and undersupported. It was clear to see during the Heartland Caregivers Conference that caregivers are not alone. We are so grateful we were able to stand with our fellow caregivers.

We are especially grateful for the connections we made with the caregivers that stopped by our table. Kristin and I were both surprised and delighted to see people’s eyes light up when they learned we were fellow caregivers sharing what works for us. To think that not only is our caregiver journey helping our loved ones but that our creations are helping other families. Maybe, this sounds daft. After all, why be there if we didn’t think we would be helpful, right? But that is just the thing, sometimes we are so deep into it that we miss noticing how helpful and valuable we can be.

To our fellow family caregivers, thank you. Thank you for what you do day in and day out for your loved ones. Thank you for stopping by our table and letting us share our passion of family caregiving.

With love and gratitude,
Delaina and Kristin