Caregiving. What is it? Who does it?
Everyone at some point in their life will be cared for or be a caregiver. Caregiving is the commitment given in caring for another person.
Sometimes the care is given at home, sometimes it is given far away; care can be next door or in a different living space that doesn't feel like home.
A caregiver may be someone who knows they are caregiving; many times it is someone who doesn't even realize they are providing care as a caregiver!
Caregiving feels like a mystery to us. Yet caregiving is as common as the air we breathe.
Caregiving is physical tasks taking lots and lots of time. It exhausts us to no end and provides us with an endless amount of work to do.
Caregiving also touches our souls; it can take our emotions soaring both up and down. Caregiving is commitment, it is a cross to bear, it is a joy, it is a sorrow, it is change. Caregiving is young and aged and everywhere in-between.
Most times caregiving feels like rain. Caregiving not only feels like rain but changes like rain. Caregiving, at times, feels like changing rain that never seems to stop.
Isn’t it funny how we both love and despise the rain?
A light rain as a child was fun, refreshing to the soul, life-sustaining by the fact of its wetness. We danced in it for hours, soaking wet but knowing all is going to be okay. There was no thunder or lightening ; the sunshine not far behind!
Couldn’t our caregiving feel the same way?
There is the rain that is harsh, that hurts as it falls on our face and back. We are soaked, annoyed and it scares us.
Couldn’t our caregiving feel like this at times also?
Some rain and its storms never stop-- it just changes. It could pour down hard, lighten up some, then blacken the sky, pour down and trickle a few drops with sunshine…then cloud over again,and pour rain for days when finally a ray of sunshine trickles the last few drops.
Is that like caregiving…always changing, having many ups-and-downs, bringing us so low - - perhaps even to our knees, only to pick us up to be thankful for a new day?
One wonders.
So, what is your caregiving like? Is it like rain?
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We dedicate this article to the many long-term caregivers who provide daily care through the good days and through the rough days. Thank you for your hard work.
copyright 2012 Kim Kozina Evanoski, MPA, LMSW - Care Manage For All
An adaptation from earlier written article: http://www.gobroomecounty.com/files/senior/pdfs/CGC0802.pdf
Everyone at some point in their life will be cared for or be a caregiver. Caregiving is the commitment given in caring for another person.
Sometimes the care is given at home, sometimes it is given far away; care can be next door or in a different living space that doesn't feel like home.
A caregiver may be someone who knows they are caregiving; many times it is someone who doesn't even realize they are providing care as a caregiver!
Caregiving feels like a mystery to us. Yet caregiving is as common as the air we breathe.
Caregiving is physical tasks taking lots and lots of time. It exhausts us to no end and provides us with an endless amount of work to do.
Caregiving also touches our souls; it can take our emotions soaring both up and down. Caregiving is commitment, it is a cross to bear, it is a joy, it is a sorrow, it is change. Caregiving is young and aged and everywhere in-between.
Most times caregiving feels like rain. Caregiving not only feels like rain but changes like rain. Caregiving, at times, feels like changing rain that never seems to stop.
Isn’t it funny how we both love and despise the rain?
A light rain as a child was fun, refreshing to the soul, life-sustaining by the fact of its wetness. We danced in it for hours, soaking wet but knowing all is going to be okay. There was no thunder or lightening ; the sunshine not far behind!
Couldn’t our caregiving feel the same way?
There is the rain that is harsh, that hurts as it falls on our face and back. We are soaked, annoyed and it scares us.
Couldn’t our caregiving feel like this at times also?
Some rain and its storms never stop-- it just changes. It could pour down hard, lighten up some, then blacken the sky, pour down and trickle a few drops with sunshine…then cloud over again,and pour rain for days when finally a ray of sunshine trickles the last few drops.
Is that like caregiving…always changing, having many ups-and-downs, bringing us so low - - perhaps even to our knees, only to pick us up to be thankful for a new day?
One wonders.
So, what is your caregiving like? Is it like rain?
-----------------------
We dedicate this article to the many long-term caregivers who provide daily care through the good days and through the rough days. Thank you for your hard work.
copyright 2012 Kim Kozina Evanoski, MPA, LMSW - Care Manage For All
An adaptation from earlier written article: http://www.gobroomecounty.com/files/senior/pdfs/CGC0802.pdf
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