For Release: IMMEDIATE
Date: November 15, 2005

State’s Poet Laureate Writes Poem to Observe Family Caregivers’ Month

November is Family Caregivers’ Month in North Carolina

RALEIGH--North Carolina’s Poet Laureate Kathryn Stripling Byer, knows well the rewards and challenges of caring for a family member. For many years she and her husband helped her father-in-law care for her mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s disease. They know the pain of making difficult decisions such as how much longer can the family realistically provide care without affecting their own health; when it might be time to make the move into a care facility; and finally what heroic measures if any, should be taken to keep her alive.

Byer is now a long distance caregiver supporting her own parents through her father’s decline in health. She notes that it’s very difficult to watch this strong man, formerly a very active farmer become ill and disabled. She is also very concerned about the effect that providing this care is having on her mother. Caring for a frail family member or friend brings us face-to-face with the realization that our lives are constantly changing as our families age.

Byer, a resident of Cullowhee, was appointed poet laureate by Gov. Mike Easley in February. As poet laureate, she will serve for at least two years as an ambassador of North Carolina literature. Byer captures the spirit of a dear friend to commemorate Family Caregivers’ Month. Byer explains: “Willa Mae Pressley lived in Cullowhee, a quilter of note and a dear friend of mine. Her mother, Delphia Potts, taught her to quilt when she was a child, and she carried that tradition into the present-day, until disabled by a stroke she was no longer able to hold a needle. Her spirit lives on in her handiwork.”

Hands All Around
was Willa Mae's favorite quilt pattern,
mine too, because I loved each one she quilted,
the way it showed what we must do for each other--
creating the stitchery that love binds, our hands
reaching out to make something to shelter within,
take our comfort inside when the days
and nights seem much too long,
much too difficult to be understood without
making some beautiful thing from our losses and
gifts, our despair and our strength,
all of them gathered up into a pattern
of simple connection, a patchwork
of day by day living our lives,
piecing moment by moment together,
a comfort to pull up around us
when we feel the wind on our faces,
see night falling outside. We shelter inside
what our hands make, remembering what keeps us warm
during dark times, what helps us keep holding on,
reaching out, each to the other, for dear life. --continued—

You can read more about Kathryn Stripling Byer, Poet Laureate by logging onto www.ncarts.org/arts_laureate.cfm [2008 webmaster note: link no longer active]

November is Family Caregivers’ Month. It is a time to raise awareness in communities about caregivers’ needs and resources, and reminds caregivers to take care of themselves. The National Family Caregivers Association encourages family caregivers to take three steps every day to make their lives easier, improve care and raise awareness about their continued love and commitment. The three steps include: Believe in Yourself; Protect Your Health; and Reach Out for Help. Find out more about Family Caregivers’ Month by logging on to the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services website at www.dhhs.state.nc.us/aging/fcaregr/fchome.htm.

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