We ate a mostly pureed diet for almost two years. Yes, I said we, because I ate what Grandma ate. I never wanted her to feel different. Also, it was easier. Pureeing it all saves time. Otherwise, I had an added task of separating my meal from hers… and if there were any leftovers (and there always was), I would have to bust out the food processor again.

I was no stranger to making things easier to eat when it came time to switch to soft foods for Grandma. Calvin, who I also previously cared for, required a soft diet at the end. He even had thickener added to all of his drinks.

Since Calvin also had trouble using utensils, I had become the queen of fixing food you could pick up and eat. As time went on, our brunches and holiday meals almost always consisted of easy-chew finger foods.

Read more on Taking Care of Grandma.