Caregiving

Most likely you know someone, maybe it is even you, who has moved from a fairly spacious home to a room-sized home. There are many reasons for moves like this, and happily, there are a lot of good choices about where that room-sized home is located. Today, I’m thinking about the process itself of making that decision, about the many layers of decisions and the emotions that go with them.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to be part of several events honoring caregivers. It’s a fairly new phenomenon, focusing on the caregiver. For eons caregiving has just happened as part of familial responsibilities, friendship or obligation. And if the caregiver was lucky enough to have a loving and caring circle around him or her, all the better. Now, it is more frequent that caregivers can find comfort and solace at conferences focusing on the caregiver, pampering events, or socials designed to bring caregivers together to share their stories, get some attention, and find additional resources to help fortify them for the hard work ahead.

When you are the one to provide care for someone who faces a permanent or temporary illness, injury or other condition, you know instantly that your world has changed. Not only does your day require more hours than ever before, but you require more stamina, patience and support than ever before. Some might be more suited to the tasks ahead, but life often does not give you the choice or test for your competencies.