The Can Do Blog has been undergoing a bit of a makeover, and the work will continue as there is more change on the horizon.

The last few months have been quiet on the blog-front because, as you will see below, it has been a difficult and stressful time. In the spring, I began working on the expansion of my consulting practice, developing new applications for the Can Do model. But, things did not go as planned and my life became quite unsettled. My father began to have a rapid decline of his health and ability to function independently.  I was on the phone with my sister on a daily basis making new, hard, confusing decisions as we arranged for him to first have in-home care. Then, when he did not improve, he moved into a nursing facility and we began to make plans for his long term care. My sister, Beth and I shared his power of attorney, so we started learning about his finances, talking to lawyers and deciding what we needed to do with some of the pieces of his life – his community memberships, his business ventures, etc. We also worked hard to be most supportive of his wife, Marge.

Dad with me and Santa – Christmas 2010

Just as we were finalizing the plan to talk with him about some critical decisions, he took a quick trip to the ER. One of the nurses called my sister and told her that all of us needed to see him the next day because he had developed pneumonia and was being sent back to the nursing home for comfort care only. The following night – I had arrived mid-afternoon and saw him twice – he died peacefully in his sleep. The next weeks were a blur, filled with the funeral, high emotion, legal needs and a great deal of family negotiating. The house, which is the primary asset in his estate, is now on the market to be sold. There is still more work to be done, but not until it sells. I am planning to write a short e-book called Driving My Dad’s Car, where I will share more of this story – of the challenges and complexities of caring for and losing elderly parents.

So, now, finally, I am busy with the details and plans to expand my consulting practice, Coridan Consulting Services. In the next months, I will move it past being primarily a grant writing service, to offer a menu of services for nonprofits and small businesses in the areas of: 1) Organizational Development & Program Growth, 2) Training & Technical Assistance and  3) Writing Services. The Can Do Workplace Model, the centerpiece of the expansion, is in the last stages of development. The new website is being designed. The new business, and a new chapter in my life, will be launched in September.

This revitalized Can Do Blog will support, nurture and promote the Can Do Workplace Model.  It will also continue to provide me with a venue for sharing the more personal experiences and opportunities of the Can Do Life Model.

Getting ready for change…. it’s an exciting, great place to be. I am glad you are along to share the journey…. it’s going to be quite the adventure!