{"id":607,"date":"2026-05-18T14:10:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/?p=607"},"modified":"2026-05-19T14:28:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T14:28:29","slug":"when-the-day-breaks-you-open-the-4-oclock-hour-of-caregiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/?p=607","title":{"rendered":"When the Day Breaks You Open: The 4 O\u2019Clock Hour of Caregiving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>A Caregiver\u2019s Story of Love and Fracture<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s the witching hour that ends me. You know that time? When you\u2019ve kept your patience with them all day, let little transgressions roll off your back, taken deep breaths, and were able to keep moving through the day, but then 4 o\u2019clock hits. No one else is home yet, maybe you have a spouse who could tag you out, or older children who could share their youthful presence, but not yet. Every second that clicks on the old grandfather clock, placed in the farthest room possible from you when you agreed to this, sounds like the chomping block of insanity closing in, ready to consume you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can you sense the hour to which I am speaking? Are you nodding your head right along with me in empathetic knowing? Well, let me throw one curve ball into the picture &#8211; I\u2019m not talking about a newborn, or a toddler, not even a young teenager that might have worn down your every nerve. Nope. I\u2019m talking about the mother you so kindly let boomerang back into your home. At least, that\u2019s who I\u2019m speaking of, because my mother has Alzheimer\u2019s and we chose to have her live with us for the last two years. Not only does Alzheimer\u2019s mean she forgets a lot, it also means she\u2019s regressing just like the beautiful Benjamin Button demonstrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the magical hell that is the witching hour comprises of all the fun land mines we navigate as parents with our children, with the added layer of hallucinations and hysteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the matter of one hour, even the smallest change to the environment (different TV show, different kids coming and going in the house, different dinner time (sidebar on that, I\u2019d highly recommend sticking to the same dinner time everyday)) can cause mayhem to my mother&#8217;s nervous system. Signals get sent across her brain that can\u2019t be accurately interpreted and end up causing her a feeling of fight or flight. Most of the time with my mom, it\u2019s flight. She wants to leave. Constantly. The other phenomenon I witness is the veil between the living and dead. Because people with Alzheimer\u2019s and dementia are known to \u201ctime shift\u201d. People long deceased are actively living in their world. Just today, my mother came home from \u201cwork\u201d (adult day care) and said her \u201cmother\u201d (dead twenty years) came to help out. Two days in a row, for that matter! Astonishing! I said in response. How far should I go down the rabbit hole with her? To what end does it help or harm to follow the illusionary yellow brick road if you know it leads to a dust bowl after a tornado?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Navigating this one measly hour feels like more than a one-person job. But just like the colicky baby who doesn\u2019t seem to be consoled, using someone else besides yourself (ahem, YOU are their person now. Maybe it was always a sibling, or their spouse, but if you are living in a world like me, it\u2019s YOU, and they will always feel safest with YOU) doesn\u2019t always result in relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I\u2019m at my most strung out, it feels like the world is on fire and I\u2019m trying to put it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But sometimes, just sometimes, you can see through the ashes. You can hold your loved one close, let the waves of emotions run through both of you, and hold tight until it passes. Because, like everything in this world, this too shall pass. That\u2019s universal law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are feeling like you are burning up in the middle of a firestorm, I see you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sending peace and love your way. Finding herself as a caregiver for her mother, Liz Kametz shares authentic feelings during a time when her mom was progressing with Alzheimer\u2019s and living in her home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are co-founders &amp; authors of <em>Just Be The Journey<\/em>, sharing our wisdom of the heart. Storyhealing(TM) is one of the many tools we\u2019ve created to cultivate a community of like-minded individuals going through similar experiences, seeking connection, healing, and growth. Find more authentically created products by searching Adrienne Gervais &amp; Liz Kametz on Amazon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Caregiver\u2019s Story of Love and Fracture It\u2019s the witching hour that ends me. You know that time? When you\u2019ve [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_surecart_dashboard_logo_width":"180px","_surecart_dashboard_show_logo":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_orders":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_invoices":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_subscriptions":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_downloads":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_billing":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_account":true,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories-of-caregiving"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/caregiver-pink.jpg",2107,1440,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/caregiver-pink-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/caregiver-pink-300x205.jpg",300,205,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/caregiver-pink-768x525.jpg",768,525,true],"large":["https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/caregiver-pink-1024x700.jpg",1024,700,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/caregiver-pink-1536x1050.jpg",1536,1050,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/caregiver-pink-2048x1400.jpg",2048,1400,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Just Be The Journey","author_link":"https:\/\/justbethejourney.com\/?author=4"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A Caregiver\u2019s Story of Love and Fracture It\u2019s the witching hour that ends me. 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