Caring for your parents is an on-going process. It's not like you only need to help them for a week while they work through a nasty flu. If you have elderly parents, you know that the flu leads to other complications, a hospital stay and perhaps more. Meanwhile, you need to work, sleep, take care of your family (if you have one) and your personal life while "being there" for your mom, dad or both.

I think taking care of yourself when you feel like life is moving from crisis to crisis is the last thing on your list. 

When your life moves from crisis to crisis that last person on the list is you. And you can probably maintain that pace for a while. You will whittle away at a full night's sleep. You'll snack on fast-food isntead of sitting down for a balanced meal. Exercise will drop from your daily, weekly, monthly routine. You have already started eating lunch at your desk at work so you can leave early. What's that leave you? Oh, sitcom reruns before bed and maybe a glass of wine, for medicinal purposes. Actually it is pretty damned medicinal if it helps you get to sleep!

Quite honestly, I don't know how to even tell you to take care of yourself. I sure as hell couldn't do it when my dad was in the hospital, my partner's mom was in the hospital and my mom needed care at home with my dad gone. But we both know you need to take care of yourself.

If only there was a magical way to make that happen? You know, snap your fingers and a bath is drawn followed by  a massage while your brother, sister, friend, whoever, takes care of your parents for the night. Well, that probably is not going to happen.  If it was happening, you wouldn't be reading this book, you'd be reading some fun piece of trashy fiction on the beach enjoying your vacation!