Welcome Irene Olson #wouldyourather

May 15, 2020 by Jill Weatherholt 159 Comments

Today I’m excited to welcome friend, author, blogger and advocate, Irene Olson. Honestly, I can’t recall how or where Irene and I connected, but she’s been a tremendous support to me and my father during our caregiver journey. I admire Irene for her willingness to share her own personal experience with Alzheimer’s and its ever-changing effects on family dynamics. Thanks for playing along, Irene!

 

Would you rather live in the middle of nowhere, with no people or stores within a 10-mile radius, or live in a busy city?

 

That’s an easy one for me because I currently live in a rural area 10 miles from Seattle, WA in a neighborhood where I can’t see my next-door neighbors’ houses because of the forest-like environment that surrounds me. My husband and I love to hike but when we are not able to do so, our 3-mile walks through our neighborhood give us the sense of being in the wilderness without having to get in a car to travel there. But I am also a sociable person so knowing that many of my family members reside in the same state where I live, gives me warm fuzzies because I know a hug with them is just a short distance away.

 

Would you rather have someone clean for you or have someone cook for you?

 

I really don’t mind the process of cleaning as it gives me great satisfaction to witness the transformation from dust bunnies that hide in every corner of my house, to nary a dust particle in sight. And I’ll let you in on a secret…our three-year-old grandson’s fingerprints on our windows bring me joy, a joy that prevents me from wiping their existence from my purview more often than not. Someday the little guy’s fingers won’t be so little and most likely the joy in discovering bigger prints won’t compare to the feelings upon coming across them now. COOKING is something I really don’t enjoy so if someone could create menus and dishes that knock my socks off, I would sign up for that service faster than you could imagine. I am blessed, however, with a husband who cooks far better than I – a feat I attribute to him being an engineer by trade. He just knows how to combine ingredients to make them shine almost as bright as my smile when I taste them!

 

Would you rather be able to take back anything you say or hear any conversation that is about you?

 

If it were possible to take back thoughtless or ill-conceived words, that would be a gift I would choose above all else. I have certainly grown wiser and more careful in my later years but my earlier years weren’t nearly as thoughtful. Full transparency: as a college freshman, I was missing my family and my then boyfriend very much. On a Friday night while studying with my dorm room open, three young men knocked on my door and one of them exclaimed, “Why is someone as pretty as you stuck inside tonight?” Instead of accepting that very generous compliment, my emotions got the worst of me so my response to this innocent young man was, “I babysit kids taller than you!” Hurtful and inexcusable words that cannot be taken back. I still grieve having said those words forty-eight years ago; I just hope he hasn’t had to live with those same words all these years later. I hope you all won’t judge me for my past sins – I have judged myself far worse than any punishment you could ever mete out.

 

Would you rather publish one insanely great-selling book and never write again, or publish a string of 15 average-selling books over a 20-year period?

One best seller would really float my boat, especially if the title was Requiem for the Status Quo, written to honor my father’s Alzheimer’s journey, and those similarly taxed with the disease as a patient or a caregiver. I am friends with several authors who say they can’t help but write – I am not one of those authors. I am working on a project right now that greatly inspires me to get it out there for public consumption – but unless another idea/theme enthuses me as much as Requiem or my current work-in-progress (WIP), that novel may be my last published piece. Perhaps if I started writing for publication in my 30s or 40s I might feel differently, but that was not the case, so I’m quite certain my WIP will be my publishing swan song of sorts.

Would you rather never be able to write or never be able to read?

 

Write. Hands. Down. I read non-fiction and fiction every day and have done so for more decades than I can count. Reading brings me joy, even when its offerings sometimes bring me to tears. I don’t necessarily read to escape, but I most definitely read to re-situate myself elsewhere. I think there’s a difference. I love my life, but I am not averse to experiencing something other than my personal journey. If I can learn from the successes and mistakes of others, just as I have learned from my own peaks and pitfalls, then I have complimented the writings of others, just as their words have complemented my own life.

 

 

Bio: Irene Frances Olson writes from passion and experience. She was her father’s caregiver during his struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Having previously worked in the assisted living and memory care industry, she was not new to the disease—nor was her family immune.

After her father’s 2007 death from Alzheimer’s disease, Ms. Olson worked as an Alzheimer’s Association support meeting facilitator and concurrently, she worked for the State of Washington as a Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTC) – an advocate for adults living in LTC settings. The author maintains a blog www.babyboomersandmore.com, also known as Living: the ultimate team sport, focused primarily on elder issues, and her writing journey can be found on her author website: www.irenefrancesolson.com. Irene hopes to make a difference in the lives of others by writing novels that encourage those who just might need another cheerleader in their corner. Her latest and most joyful role as of late is as a grandmother to her grandson and a future grandmother to his sister or brother that will enter her world in September.