5 Things Caregivers Can Be Thankful for
By Paula Spencer Scott, Caring.com senior editor
Last week I wrote about [how to say thank you to a caregiver this Thanksgiving] (http://www.caring.com/blogs/caring-currents/how-to-say-thank-you-to-a-caregiver-this-thanksgiving). Today, Thanksgiving Day, I thought I'd mention a few things caregivers themselves can feel grateful about.
Give thanks for the opportunity to serve. It's easy to dwell on the drudgery and stress of caregiving. Less obvious is the parallel reality: that it's a privilege to take care of someone in need. Nothing makes us feel more human.
Give thanks for the golden moments of connection. They're all the more meaningful when they're unexpected –- that grateful smile when you help someone out of the car, the shared laugh at the absurdity of coping with incontinence or memory glitches, the whispered confidence that sneaks out like a gift, the big laughs when the two of you are sitting there reminiscing over hot chocolate.
Give thanks for modern health care. While we use it within a flawed system, it's breathtakingly expensive, and it's full of hassles and paperwork, medical care today is nevertheless better than any previous generation ever enjoyed.
Give thanks for caregiving camaraderie. Internet [forums] (http://www.caring.com/forums) and support groups are just two ways caregivers can easily connect and unload. And goodness knows we all need a chance to unload!
Give thanks for landing in a caregiver role in an era when "cancer" and "dementia" are no longer whispered, shameful words that turn people away. Instead, we have more information and insights on these conditions than anyone just a decade or two ago could have dreamed. And that makes life easier on all of us.
I also hope you're able to be giving thanks for somebody else doing all the cooking this year!
Happy Thanksgiving – and while you're eating your pumpkin pie, promise me you'll think of at least three holiday "To Do"s that you can cut back on during the rest of the upcoming holidays, as a gift to yourself.
I appreciate this site also.Your response touched my heart as we share the same commitment, the same disease and I am sure many of the same trials. ONLY by the grace of God and the ease of Jesus am I able to continue stepping forward to fulfill this commitment.My heart and my prayers are with each and every one of you in every different situation that presents itself. Keeping our eyes on Jesus definitely takes alot of the pressure off. I am so thankful for my faith and for the uplifting this site provides. God bless us all. :)
Thank you, Paula, for this post. I am truly thankful for Caring.com and the 5 you have listed. I'm also, very thankful for a few wonderful friends who understand my commitment to keep my word to my Mom. I promised her "no nursing home", several years ago. I never considered the possibility of Alzheimer's. Now, I deal with it everyday. To say it is difficult or demanding is an understatement. However, by God's Grace and with His strength and the help and support of friends, I am keeping that promise, though she doesn't even know who I am. May God bless and keep you and others who can relate to "caregiving". Sincerely, with many thanks, By God's Grace :-)