Um I'm Peter Rosenberger and after 40 years as a caregiver for my wife Gracie through a medical nightmare that has soared to 98 operations, both legs amputated, treatment by more than 100 doctors in 13 different hospitals and you can't imagine the medical bills.
Well I've learned some things and I've learned every one of them the hard way. And in my new book, A Caregiver's Companion, it's a journal from that journey. It's filled with hard-won wisdom, practical help, and yes, an ample dose of humor. Because let's face it, if we don't laugh, we're going to blow a gasket. and I've learned that I am no good to my wife if I'm fat, broke, and miserable.
How does that help her? Healthy caregivers make better caregivers, and that's what this book is about, pointing my fellow caregivers to safety, to learn to live calmer, healthier, and dare I say it, even more joyful as a caregiver. It's one truth I've learned, punctuated by either a verse from scripture or a stanza from a hymn, and a space for you to share your own thoughts. While this is my journal from a 40-year journey, you can journal along with me in this book. It's called A Caregiver's Companion, available August 20th from Fidelis Publishing, wherever books are sold.
Learn more at peterrosenberger.com. Welcome to Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberger and I'm so very glad to be with you today. HopefortheCaregiver.com. HopefortheCaregiver.com.
How are you feeling today? How are you doing? I ask that question because I ask that of every caregiver that I meet. Learning to speak in our own voice is a big part of us being a healthier caregiver and Healthy caregivers. Make better caregivers.
That's what this program is all about: strengthening you to equip you as a family caregiver to live a calmer, healthier, and dare I say it. a more joyful life while you serve as a caregiver, not after. Not long after, while you're doing.
Okay? That's the goal. That's what we're aiming for here: is that while you and I are both serving as caregivers, because I'm doing it right here with you. We are living a healthier life. HopefortheCaregiver.com.
Hopeforthearegiver.com.
Well, today, is a very special bag. And you say, Peter, why is it a special day? And I'm glad you asked that question. Because to day, Saturday, august sixteenth, Thirty nine years ago, I said I do. Gracie said I do, and we did.
And we've been married now for thirty nine years. four decades. That we've been together now. How about that? And it's Uh like What a journey it's been.
They haven't been easy years. They've been filled with, well, we don't have plateaus. I don't know what you have in your life. I don't know what you guys, you know, those of you who are married, have in your life. We don't have plateaus.
We have a roller coaster. You know, those videos that you see of people screaming as they go down the first drop on a roller coaster and so forth, that's pretty much our life. And it's been that way from actually before we got married. And it's you know, we've just never had a plateau. I don't I there are some people that, you know, the relationship seems to just have this nice, even keel and doesn't get too excitable and nothing, you know, everything is just kind of Calm and normal, whatever that means.
I don't know what normal means, but not ours. We have had quite a journey. And yeah, we've had challenges. under my watch, when Gracie got hurt. to my best count.
Just before I got married to her, by m by my best count, she'd had twenty-one operations. and seventy seven of em of the ninety eight she's had total, have been under my watch.
So that's been going on now for our entire marriage. Actually, we I went through my first surgery with her before just before we got married, a couple of months before we got married. And so it's been every, you average that out over the time, and you're looking at. 'Kay. 1.34 or something every year.
Every year. And that doesn't count all the smaller procedures. all the doctor visits, all that kind of stuff.
So it's been a bit of a You know. A challenge. But that doesn't mean we also haven't had amazing moments. I mean truly amazing moments. And I'll tell you one of those came at the Republican National Convention in Madison Square Gardens 2004.
She had performed there on Tuesday night and on Thursday night the uh the White House had asked us to stick stick around and be on the stage. With the President.
So, if you look at any of the publications during that time, Time Magazine, Newsweek, whatever, you'll see over George W. Bush's left shoulder, there's me and Gracie. And as the balloons were dropping and we're shaking hands with the president, the first lady, and so forth, and everybody's cheering, the bands are playing, it's just. It was a surreal moment. And then They all left, the president, the vice president, everybody, they all left.
And everybody Down below on the stages, milling around and still kicking balloons and that kind of stuff. And then Leigh Ann Womack comes out. Our kids went to school together. And she, of course, being from Nashville, we were in Nashville at the time. And she came out and sang that song, I Hope You Dance.
And I don't know if you know the lyrics of that, but it's a great song. Look it up. And It's um and she's singing that and I'm dancing with Gracie on stage at the RNC. BADISON SQARE GARDENS And they're carrying it on television. I mean, I'm dancing with Gracie there.
And think about that for just a moment. We're dancing. She's got two prosthetic legs. Nobody, when she had her wreck, nobody thought she'd live, much less walk, much less. stroll out on stage at Madison Square Gardens to perform.
Gracie was the second person with a disability to perform at a political party's convention. Do you know who the first was? Ray Charles. for Ronald Reagan. And then Grace is the second.
Not for Republican or Democrat, for any of them. Ray Charles was the first. And Rachel and and Gracie was the second. And so To my best knowledge. And so it was just one of those surreal moments that I'm dancing.
And there's Lee Ann Womack. I mean, she's just yards away from us. and we all flew back together to Nashville the next day, but she's just yards away singing I Hope You Dance Gracie and I are dancing. And Uh you think about the the journey. That that You know, we have.
We were certainly thinking about that, and this is surreal. Yes, it has been a roller coaster. Yes, it has been difficult. But we've had moments. like that, that were so beyond the pale of of awesome, And we had the perspective of suffering.
To allow us to treasure those moments. And Gracie looks back at that, she just calls it, it was a perfect moment. It was a perfect moment. And she looked like a million dollars. And go, don't take my word for it, go look.
Um it it it was just It was one of those moments. And and so Uh you don't get many of those. in a lifetime, but we've had several of those. Of things like that, that were so poignant, so beautiful, so. beyond the pale.
But it took suffering and it took heartache. to give those moments the appreciation they deserved. I don't make those rules. That's just the way it worked out. You know, how do you appreciate good times unless you've had Hard times.
And this is where Gracie and I have learned to live in this place where we appreciate the beauty that we have and the joy that we have in our life Even while in a hospital room, for five months. We've had The last two At least the last two, if not the last three, Valentine's Day. in a hospital. Birthdays. Um Mother's Day, You know, we've had anniversaries in the hospital, we've had it all.
Name it, we've dealt with it. You can't go through this lengthy journey with the kind of numbers that we've had as far as challenges and so forth. And so, what do you do? Are you going to say, well, we'll just get through this and then we'll enjoy life? No, we're going to enjoy life.
in the middle of it. It's life. It's our life. It's not a bad life. It's a hard life.
But it's our life. And you learn to make beautiful memories in it, and every so often. things will happen and you'll find yourself dancing You know, in Madison Square Gardens, you know, in front of the nation, in front of the world. And y you know, you'll see things like that every now and then. You'll have moments like we have out here many times.
Where We'll be standing on the deck among She'll be in a wheelchair, but we'll look at a full moon. over the mountains here in Montana in a view that very few people will get to see. And the trail that we're on is hard, but I have found. that most trails that are worth following to get to a view that is worth having are usually pretty difficult. But boy, the view is great when you get there, isn't it?
And that's been our journey. And I'm going to have more of this as we go through today's program. I got a special thing I'm going to do when we come back. I want to play some clips, you know, again, about love and romance in the midst of difficulty with an interview I just recently had with Jay Leno. and let him share in his own words his thoughts on this.
Which I have to say it was. rather surreal to have J. Leno call me and Have a conversation with me that was a little bit thrill. Again, some of these unexpected moments where you say, This would not happen had we not gone through some of the things we've gone through, but we've Gone through these painful things in our life that give such texture and depth to. the mountaintops that we get to experience.
You know, being able to just have a conversation with somebody like Jay Leno, certainly, you know, not something I get to do every day. And I got to admit, I was a bit starstruck.
So we'll talk about that more when we come back. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Hope for the Caregiver. Happy anniversary, Gracie. What a journey it's been.
We'll be right back. Our love will fly never fear. I'll be faithful to you. I promise now you will have my love all my life. I pledge to you.
Cause I love you, I do. May these vows that are spoken never be broken. Oh, my love, all my life. May these vows that are spoken never be broken. Oh, my love, all my life.
All my love, all my love. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver, and that is the voice. that absolutely captured my heart. I'll never forget the first time I heard her sing. By the way, this is Peter Rosenberg, and that is Gracie.
I'll never forget the first time I heard her sing. And we were in a practice room. at Belmont University in Nashville. And there were some friends of mine in there, and we were all kind of crowded in there. I was playing, and Gracie's singing, and it was like.
Well, now that means it's over. I mean, I was just. I mean how that voice. And I have Had the Indescribable pleasure of playing for that voice. you know, as a pianist you you just you don't it It's hard to describe that.
It really is. It's hard to describe what it means to have.
Somebody who sings like she does. And to be able to to Play for them to accompany them. And see, I don't play. You know, I don't just read what's on the page. I'm not limited to a piece of sheet music, and she'll hand it to me and say, okay, play this.
I can do that, but it's difficult for me to do it because I tend to embellish.
So I sit down and I'll play. And I'll just play whatever chords, you know, she needs me to play under her. And then she'll she'll sing, and it just, you know. And then she'll just home this. I can't get her to do it right this moment, but...
So, you know. And so when I have somebody like that with that level of talent. It is such a joy. And this is another thing. This is another one of those high moments like Madison Square Gardens for us where we have music.
that we get to even in the worst of times. And we've had them. We had music. And I I brought a keyboard into her hospital room. But there were times just in our home where we'd just sit around the piano and and I'll play, or I'll she could hear me playing in the other room when she was bedridden.
and she'll start singing. And You know, uh i i it it's indescribable. It's truly indescribable. I've written a lot of books and things like that, and I don't have the words to describe what that's like. And it's just, it's almost like it's just a terrible.
Taste of heaven, of how Beautiful, it is. You know, it's one of those things. Did you ever read? The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from C.S. Lewis.
Did you ever read that? There's a scene at the end Where they're going in they're at the end of the ocean and they're going to go back into their own world. I don't know how familiar you are with the Chronicles of Narnia. But they get to peek into Aslan's country. And And the only words that Lucy was able to describe afterwards was: it was so beautiful that it broke your heart.
And they said it was a sad? He said, no, no. And I just love that. It breaks your heart, but it's not sad. It's too beautiful for you to to wrap your mind around in this lifetime.
And this is what God has given to me as Gracie's husband: that I get to hear that voice. And I've heard her from hospital beds. I've heard her. I remember when she was singing for my mother. When mom and mom listens to the program, how you doing, mom?
And We were she mom was in ICU. And she wanted Gracie to sing Breathe on Me, Breath of God.
Well, Gracie didn't know the hymn that well, which I fussed at her about, and I fussed at her parents for not properly teaching her the hymns. 'Cause this is one of the hymns that every Christian ought to know, every caregiver ought to know. And Gracie, I got a hymn for her, and she sang this to Mom, a cappella. in the hospital, and it echoed down the hallway, and I saw nurses stopping. to lean their head out to listen to her sing.
And this hymn, Breathe on Me, Breath of God, mom was struggling to breathe, and this is the hymn she requested. And it was written in 1878. The guy that wrote it his name was Edwin Hatch. He was an Oxford theologian, and it was a prayer. He was a scholar, but he didn't write this necessarily.
He wasn't commissioned to do it. It came out of his personal devotion. And he um So he didn't bring the academic part of it. He just really brought the heart of what he was doing. Not that those two have to be mutually exclusive, but sometimes people can be so academic-minded.
But in this particular case, it was kind of a deep personal cry for spiritual renewal that was inspired by John 20. Verse 22, when Jesus said, He breathed on him and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. And so these are just Very short stanzas. It's such a beautiful hymn, and I thought Okay, for our hymn this week, instead of me playing it on the caregiver keyboard, To have Gracie sing a little bit of it, and it's Breathe on Me, Breath of God, a hymn that every Caregivers should know, every Christian should know this hymn. And I did fuss at Gracie and her parents for not knowing this hymn.
But uh I think her dad knew, but they you know they didn't. Follow through to make sure that little Gracie knew it. But anyway, she knows it as an adult, and she sang it for my mother the first time in the ICU, and it's become just a staple for her for so many different things she's endured with.
So here she is singing this hymn. Breathe on me. Grant. Of God. Fill me.
With mine. Uh Uh That I made love for what now? That's love. And do what thou would do Breathe on. Unmeasure.
Of God. Until Yeah. My heart is pure. Until with thee I will one will do one will to do. No breathe on.
Me Breath of God till I am wholly thine until this. Oh sweet. Yes. Bye five. Deep breathe.
On me breath of God, so shall I never die but live with thee the Perfect. Life of thine eternal Breathe on me, breath of God fill me with life that I may love what thou just love and to. What now? What do? That voice, that's what it makes me want to go to the caregiver keyboard here and And just You know, that that That's one of those hymns that every Christian ought to know.
Every caregiver should know. And it's breathe on me, breath of God, Edward. a staple, it should be a staple in our life. I love that line, that I may love what thou dost love and do what thou dost love. What to do?
And This is a song that you can sing. in the midst of whatever. I know that because I've watched her do this. For my mother in the ICU. And I watched, I promise you, I watched nurses stick their heads out of other ICU rooms just to listen.
it echoed all the way down the hallway there in in Grenville, South Carolina, at the hospital. And People stopped. to hear. That is the strength that these hymns contain. They Strengthen us, they equip us, they fortify us, they minister to us in sometimes the worst of circumstances.
And it was a tough place for my mother. And here is her daughter in law, who's got all these things going on in our own life. And both of them, by the way, are named Mary Rosenberger because Gracie is Mary Grace Rosenberger. My mother is Mary Emma Rosenberger.
So you had two Mary Rosenbergers, which is kind of odd. and they're in the hospital. together. and one of them is singing to the other. But in the process Everybody on the floor within earshot.
And Gracie didn't hold back, by the way. She rarely does. And it blessed all the way down the hallway. patients, nurses, techs, everybody. And This is the power of these hymns.
And so now you know how to do this. All right, we're going to be back in a minute here. We got to take a break. I'll be back. Right after the break and play some of my interviews with Jay Leno.
This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Hope for the Caregiver, HopefortheCaregiver.com. Happy anniversary, Gracie. Will be Right back. Girls just sleeping.
Rose oil. Yeah. Kiss of May So in a world of snow of things that come and go well what you think you know you can't be certain of You must believe in spring. And I'm telling you. This is Peter Rosenberg.
This is hope for the caregiver and that is my wife. Gracie, she's singing that. Wonderful song that's from her C D Resilient and she was accompanied on that one not by me but by my Piano professor John Arne, who's been on this program, he came and played at our wedding. and he accompanied Gracie when she auditioned for the School of Music, before I ever met Gracie. and then he became my piano professor before I met Gracie.
She had well, she was sitting out Um from recovering from her wreck when I'm transferred into the school. And so He intersected both of us, but then we ended up. Starting to date and got married, and he and his wife and children at the little boys at the time came and he performed at our wedding. An amazing friend and mentor, and I love that song of Gracie. I love it when she sings those kinds of songs that she just brings that artistry she has.
So, anyway, you'll just have to pardon me, but I happen to be very much in love with my wife, and I'm very glad that she's a singer. And I get to hear that.
Well, if you bought the CD, you could hear it as much as you want to as well. As promised, here's my conversation I had with Jay Little talking about love and marriage because he's going, he's been married for 45 years. But his wife has dementia. He and I recently were able to have a conversation, and I thought you might enjoy hearing some of this. You are busy with quite a few things.
But I want to ask you, you know, what's next for you? I mean, you're in a different place in your career. Are you still doing a lot of stand-up? Yeah, well, I just come home every night. You know, luckily I can afford to do that.
You know, I'll go out, do a show Friday. Do a show Saturday, come home Saturday night. Oh, I tried to come home the same night. I mean, I went to Puerto Rico for a couple of hours. to do a show and then came back the same day.
And so that's what I just try to be home as much as I can.
So The atmosphere doesn't ch you know. It's good when people have these kind of conditions. You want to... Pretty much do the same thing on a regular basis, you know, not upset the apple tide and things like that. Right.
Yeah, change is not your friend in situations like this. Yeah, yeah.
Well, Mark Twain said, I like. I like progress. It's change I don't like. A lot of guys are stepping into the same role that you're in. Last thing.
What would you like to offer them something that you learned that you didn't necessarily expect that you would learn as a caregiving husband?
Well I learned, I enjoy taking care of her. I mean It's not really a burden. You know, I'm. My wife's been all Always been very independent.
So I like that I can do things for. And you know, it kind of, you know, there aren't many things that test us in life. For men, it's the armed forces. You go in, you're in Vietnam, you're in Kandahar or something. What would I do under pressure?
What would I do under fire? I was fortunate, I didn't have to do any of that. A bite. You know, you get married, you take a vow not to sound corny, but You know, 90% of it is pretty good. I mean, this is that 10%, it's rough, okay.
This is where you earn your medal. This is where you find out. Am I was I really a good husband or was I just You know, when you're young, and you know, I was successful, and we had money, and we could do things. And so there was never any real test, you know. And this, I think, it's a test.
And I enjoy doing it. It makes me feel good that it makes me feel good that I do enjoy doing it. Because Uh yeah. You know, I never really quite know what the definition of love is. I think it comes down to.
Uh the test to situations like this.
Okay. I mean, I always knew I was in love with my wife. It's not a problem. But how much was I? You know, was it so much that I would.
Um Sacrifice other things. I mean, I know guys that don't. They would rather. do something else or be with someone else or whatever it might be and i'm And I'm glad. I chose correctly and never did any of those things.
So I I I don't know. It it's just I it it's just a test. You know, I'm 75 years old. And the last 68 years have been just great. These have been a little taxing.
But that's okay. I I can't complain. I can afford to have a nurse come in twice a week and check on her, and I can afford to have. a dentist guy come cleaner teeth at the house and Do all these kinds of things.
So I am very lucky. I mean, my heart goes out to people that are. you know, policemen, firemen, nurses, teachers who don't act. Aren't fortunate enough to have the physical, I'm physical, the financial help that I. Been able to have because of my job on TV and stuff.
So I have no complaints at all. I I I'm very happy. I'm fine. Uh you know Working with my wife. We went through a lot of times where she was angry and mad.
Now I know she trusts me more. I'm there every day. I use photographs like flash guards. Remember this picture, honey? Remember this one?
Remember this? Remember this? And Maybe it's my imagination, but she's actually getting better. She's remembering things that she didn't three or four months ago. I go, Oh, okay.
I I just try to find every little victory. that I can. But I think that's something that a lot of caregivers struggle with: they're looking for the big victories. But I love what you're saying. It's the little wins.
And I've said that to more fellow caregivers: take the little win, take the small win. You know, the only big win is somebody is cured. And you're not cured from this one. It doesn't work that way. The best you can hope for is hold it at bay.
And wait for those moments, you know. I I you know, I don't know. I mean, that's what works for me. I don't know if it works for everybody. I don't have a lot.
I'm not a guy, I'm not a needy guy. It's just not. my way, you know. I we grew up in New England and you're kinda independent and Everybody fends for themselves and You know, it's it's it's just one of those Life test and I'd like to think Then I passed, you know. I didn't pass many tests in my life, but...
This one, I think I'm doing okay with.
Well, I would concur. I always tell people. You know, when you live in Hollywood, you have a lot of friends in therapy. When I was in New England, I didn't know anybody in therapy. Why?
But In Hollywood, everybody's in therapy. And you know, I said, you know what the greatest therapy is? And it really does work. Do something for somebody else. a stranger, an elderly neighbor, if it's not financial support.
It's cutting the lawn, it's running it to the market if she doesn't drive, and she's 80 years old, or whatever. And it's amazing. how good it will make you feel. I mean, it really is. I was just back in Rhode Island.
I have a house there. And we did a bunch of shows for the. for the Martin Luther King Food Bank. And it was just so wonderful. It was just, you know, 100% of the money went to the food bank.
And you feel so good that you are able to do something for people to help out your fellow human beings. And it's a great feeling, you know. I mean, it really is. And it's not hard for me. I like to tell jokes anyway.
So if that brings some joy for people, that's terrific. But you can do it in all kinds of different ways, be a caregiver. You know, when when I was growing up, The people lived in front of us had a had a child. With some horrible disease. The baby could not be on its own for more than 20 minutes, a half an hour, or its heart would stop.
Someone had to hold the baby and just gently shake it. all the time. And all the women in the neighborhood and some of the men took turns holding the baby, you know. And I was my mother was so afraid to. She would go over in the middle of the night and she's so afraid she'd fall asleep holding the baby, you know, and the baby would die or something like that.
But That went on for like until the child became a young adult. And eventually passed away in the early 20s. But it was just the same kind of thing. Everybody felt that they were pitching in and they were helping a neighbor and helping somebody that had. God forbid a problem you'd never want to have in your whole life.
Imagine having a child with. If you leave it for 15 minutes, its heart will stop. I mean, it was an unbelievable thing. It was just like, oh my God, you just passed this baby around, you know, and she's crazy. I just remember my mother going through that, but.
how good it made my mother feel to be able to be a part of it, you know? And me too. And I that was that was. I don't know if that makes any sense at all. It makes a lot of sense.
And there was a time where community being involved like that was preeminent. And I hope we can continue. Back towards that, because I think you're right, it does. I'll let you go because I know you're very busy. Can I ask you one question about comedy?
And, you know, we're seeing a lot of stuff going on with the late night shows and so forth. You're out of that game, you don't have to do it, but your name comes up a lot. Do you ever think we'll get back to some of the things that you did, Letterman did, Carson did, with that kind of where comedy can be a uniter? Do you think we'll get back to that in the middle of the yeah? I mean, I'm on the road every week.
I'm somewhere doing shows. I mean, you're there now. It's just. You know, we live in an era now where everybody has to know how everybody feels about every issue. You know, and and we live in this world of stereotypes.
If you're a vegetarian, then you're this, then you're this, or you're this. If you own a gun, then you're this, then you're this. And none of those are really true. I have good friends on both sides of the aisle, some I agree with, some I disagree with. But It doesn't affect our friendship, you know.
You have to. You have to be a bit understanding. Everybody's a bit different, but... You know, I kind of blame social media. Because people can hide behind things.
They can post things with a phony name. And and start a big ruckus. Very good analysis of all that's going on with it. And I love comedy. I've always loved your comedy.
I've loved Stand Up for, I tried a little bit of it, but my life doesn't lend itself to that. But I absolutely admire what you do. I sat out there and watched you and Jeff when you guys did that show together, and I watched two. Guys, at the pinnacle of their profession, and I, it was just enthralling. Jeff brings this storytelling thing that he does, and the way you come out with jokes.
Your dad was a fighter, and I was watching you telling jokes, and you're out there just hitting jokes, I mean, right and left, body blows. And if you didn't laugh at one, you didn't have time to even think about it because here comes the next one. And it was, it was just, it was a ride for an hour that you did this. I thought, I just love this. And so I thank you for that night.
Gracie was with me that night, and we were just howling. And it was a great show. I'm up against the clock, so we've got to take a break. I hope you enjoyed a snippet of my conversation with Jay Leno. You can hear the whole interview on my Substack page, caregiver.substack.com, or at my website, hopeforthecaregiver.com.
This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Hope for the Caregiver. We'll be right back. Yeah. There is no birth I've ever heard before.
No, it's my love. It's even more. It's even more than one can measure, even longer than forever. It's like a fire inspiring me to love you even more. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver.
This is Peter Rosberger, and that is my wife. And that is why that voice captured me. And I love her singing that song. That song is called Even More. And I You know, it's our anniversary.
39 years. 39 hard-won years. And we've crammed an awful lot into four decades of relationship and marriage and all the things that we've been through. A lot of you all know that. You've followed along with me over the years on this program.
And I'm celebrating the fact that we have. a relationship that has endured. Which is not an easy thing in today's world, is it? But we do. And I love that song that she does.
I just love listening to her sing. And so we're going to, by the way, You know, I'm doing the hymns every week, and I'm going to have her singing on at least. One or two of them coming up in the near future. I've just got to get her to the microphone where she's a little bit more steady and comfortable doing so. And then we've been renovating our little cabin out here, and I've made a bigger bedroom for her that's more handicap accessible and everything else.
And we're hoping to move into that in the next couple of weeks. And then I'll have my studio set up so I can do this program and other things that I do. And she'll be able to get to it a little bit easier. And she'll sing. Do you think that'd be all right?
Would you all like to hear her sing some of these hymns with me at the caregiver keyboard? And she will do that. Is that with your permission? May I do that? Uh uh I'm well, without your permission, I'm still gonna do it.
Because she seems great. And she, I just need to get her back singing. I mean, we all do. I mean, that's, I told her, I said, baby, we're gonna get you back singing. It's gonna happen.
She's been worried about her voice. With all the tubes and surgery, but she's going to be fine. I was listening to her sing. She's working that voice back into shape, and she's going to be just fine. I hope you've enjoyed this program today.
I hope you enjoyed my interview with Jay. You can go, Jay Leno, you can go and hear the whole thing on my podcast. Go out to hopeforthcaregiver.com. You see it on the website. And you can also go out to my substack page, caregiver.substack.com.
Come and hear the whole interview. It was a lot of fun. He called. And and I Gracie was uh she had a physical therapist here. And when he called, I said, Jay, I just want to get on your calendar so I can interview you and have you on my show.
He said, Where do we do it right now? They just do it right now. You know, and I'm like, Well, Jay, you got to give me 15 minutes. I got a physical therapist right here. And so the PT left, and he had trouble calling into.
The system I used to be able to record phone calls, so I just recorded it on my phone. And I've never done that before, but I thought.
Okay, here we go. And it beeped every so often. If you were listening, you could probably hear the beeps. And I didn't know if I would have enough memory, and I didn't know if I would have working or anything else. And so I was a little bit nervous that I was doing this all off the cuff.
I mean, there were no notes, it was all extemporaneous. And at the end of it, I said, you know, Jay, I hope this thing recorded. And he said, if he didn't, we'll do it again, my friend. We'll do it again. We'll do it again.
So he was really great. I try to just get out of his way in the interview. And a friend of mine told me, he said, well, you know, Peter, you're quick. You can keep up with Jay. And I said, no, no, no, no, no.
I'm quick. Jay makes me look like Floyd from Mayberry, you know, Floyd the barber. It just, I mean, his mind is so fast and so sharp. And it was just a fascinating time to be able to have this conversation with him. And I hope we'll be able to do more.
And do keep them in your prayers. It's a tough thing. I mean, he and Mavis have been married 45 years, and like you said, the last several years have been. A a test? and and a pretty significant one.
I think he's got a great attitude about it, but you know, this audience knows how difficult it is and how lonely it can be. And so do keep him in your prayers. And I, again, I do appreciate very much him taking the time to talk with me. It was a bit surreal. I'm not going to kid you.
That's the biggest celebrity interview I've ever done. And it was. It was a bit surreal. Switching gears, I want to let you know that on August 20th, next week, my book releases. It's called A Caregiver's Companion, Scriptures, Hymns, and 40 Years of Insight for Life's Toughest Role.
And you can pre-order it today, and it'll certainly be hitting wherever books are sold starting next week. But you can pre-order today and probably have it delivered to you by. I mean, very soon after, because I think they probably start doing those things even earlier than the release date. I think you'll find this book very meaningful to you. What I've done is, I've taken a quote that I've said over the years.
And I will partner that quote with a scripture. Or a hymn stanza of something that has sustained me through this journey. In fact, I'll tell you what, today's August 16th. And I'll go to page 16, and the quote on that page is: Caregivers require regular breaks. preferably without being criticized by others.
That's a quote I've said up going that many years ago. And the scripture I put with that is Hebrews 4.9.
So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. It's all about you. You and me as caregivers, and we can take a break. We don't need to be criticized. God put it right there in Scripture that we can have a Sabbath rest.
Now, I don't know what that looks like for you. It's a little difficult for me to have a Sabbath rest, but part of a Sabbath rest for us. is not the fact that we get a day off and we don't have to do anything that's caregiving related, but that we're not striving to somehow fix this. A Sabbath rest for us as caregivers doesn't mean we get one day off that we don't have to be a caregiver. 'Cause that I don't see that happening any time soon for me.
But what it means is it's a daily, hourly, and sometimes minute by minute reminder to myself that I don't have to fix this. I am a steward. I can rest that he has this. Do you see the difference? And it's an internal place of rest for me.
And then I have a place on each of those, whether it's a scripture or the hymn, and it says, My thoughts here, where you can journal along with your thoughts. This is my journal. This is my journal for 40 years. As a caregiver, and I've made a place for you to journal along with me. It's just one quote.
in a scripture or a hymn. It's pretty easy. Uh because I know The life of being a caregiver. I don't have time to sit down and read a bunch of books. I listen to a lot of things on audio.
Because while I'm doing laundry and everything else, by the way, nobody ever told me there was so much laundry involved in just being an adult and certainly a caregiver. But here we are. But while I'm doing my chores, I listen to things, but I can't sit down and read a book very easily like I used to in the old days. And so I did something that was very simple for caregivers. You could turn to any page.
And you'll find something that's going to help you right in that moment. Not a week from now, not a day from now. but right in this moment. We're about out of time, and I want to end this program today with a special song you may have heard before. This is a song that I wrote with a buddy of mine in Nashville.
His name is actually Buddy. And Gracie sings this with Look, it's me telling you how much I adore this woman, and I love to hear her sing, and I love her singing this song. and I wrote this to express a caregiver's heart. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Hope for the Caregiver, HopeForthecaregiver.com.
Happy anniversary, Gracie. I know. What does this mean? Yeah. I'm not on a way.
I understand the cost. What I paid care I see who you are. I see all your favourite. Yeah. I still love.
Like I do. Mac wins. A road turned, but I'm still here walking with you right here, right now. That's all we can do in this moment. I live my life with you.
I know there will be sorrow. We'll face that somehow, but my hands can't hold. Tomorrow I can only hope Memories have wings, some will fly. Away. I will keep the them safe and wisdom.
Have today I looked in your eyes you smiled back at me all I need to know Right there for me. To see our road curve, but I'm still here walking with you right here, right now. That's all. We can do in this moment. I live my life with you.
I know there will be sorrow, we'll face that somehow. But my hands can't hold tomorrow, they can only. Hold you now I know there will be sorrow. We'll face that somehow my hands can't hold tomorrow I can only hold you now Gracie, when you envision doing a prosthetic limb outreach did you ever think? the inmates would help you do that.
Not in a million years. What does in a million years I would have ever thought about that? When you go to the facility run by Core Civic and you see the faces of these inmates that are working on Prosthetic limbs that you have helped collect from all over the country that you put out the plea for. And they're disassembling. You see all these legs, like what you have, your own prosthetic legs.
And arms, too. And arms. When you see all this, what does that do to you? Makes me cry. 'Cause I see the smiles on their faces and I know.
I know what it is to be locked someplace where you can't get out without somebody else allowing you to get out. Course, being in the hospital so much and so long. When I go in there, and I always get the same thing every time that these men are so glad that they get to be doing, as one man said, something good finally with my hands. Did you know before you became an amputee that Parts of prosthetic limbs could be recycled? No, I had no idea.
I thought we were still in the. 1800s and 1700s. I mean, you know, I thought of peg leg, I thought of wooden legs. I never thought of. Titanium and carbon legs and flex feet and C legs and all that.
I never thought about that. I had no idea.
Now that you've had an experience with it, what do you think of the faith-based programs that Core Civic offers? I think they're just absolutely awesome. And I think every prison out there should have faith-based programs like this because the Return rate. Of the men that are involved in this particular faith-based program. and other ones like it but I know about this one.
Are just an amazingly low rate compared to those who don't have them. And I think that that says so much. That says so much. about Just, that doesn't have anything to do with me. It just has something to do with God using somebody broken.
to help other broken people be whole. If people want to donate a used prosthetic limbs, whether from a loved one who passed away, or somebody who outgrew them, you've donated some of your own. What's the best place for them to do? How do they do that? Where do they find it?
Please go to dannywithope.com/slash recycle, and that's all it takes. It'll give you all the information on there. What's that website again? DannywithHope.com/slash. Slash recycle.
Thanks, Crazy. Take my hand. Lean on me, we will stay.
