As we round the corner and enter the fall season of our 15th Fearless Caregiver Conference year (silly you, still living in the summer), the many conference rooms, banquet centers and convention centers in which we have held the events filter through my mind. The consistent themes that I see in my mind’s eye are, of course, the support, camaraderie and interactions between family caregivers. This solidarity that unites caregivers even extends to the celebrities who attend the events since they all share the common experience of family caregiving. But the overriding theme that I see which has held each and every event together is actually the value of asking questions—no question at all.

From the young man who stood at a recent Nashville event and started his question by saying, “I know my mom should no longer be driving, but…” or the family caregivers interacting with the panelists regarding partnering with their loved ones. Or at one Philadelphia event when two family caregivers discovered that the loved ones they were caring for lived only blocks away from one another; I noticed them sitting together at the next year’s event, having become fast friends and caregiving allies in the intervening year.

This all came to mind as I was having a conversation with a panelist preparing for next week’s Boca Raton Fearless Caregiver Conference. She expressed concern regarding what she should talk about at the upcoming event. I said that if she brings her body of knowledge, her skills and plenty of heart, she would not only be able to answer a multitude of questions, but if history has anything to say about it, she should also bring a pad and pen, because there will be a heck of a lot that the family caregivers will be able to teach her, as well.

We are expanding the Fearless Caregiver 2013 event schedule to include two additional conferences in the calendar. Please let me know if you would like us to bring a Fearless Caregiver Conference to your community.