Caring Today Blog

Caregiver Olympics

Submitted by Debbie on 2008, August 13 - 10:21.

A lot of people who know caregivers would consider what we do to be an Olympian feat. But, if we caregivers were to organize our own Olympic Games, what would they look like?

The Marathon
This one is pretty easy. This is our daily schedule: doctors, medicines, meals, bathing and the occasional nap (our loved one's more likely than our own). If thinking for two or more isn't a marathon event, I might need to visit dictionary.com to find out what is.

Gymnastics
This is my favorite part of the Olympics, and I do see some similarities within my home. Honest moment here: I usually blame my parents for the clutter, but one or two (cough, cough) piles of junk just might be mine. Imagine the gymnast I could be with the practice I get from my daily routine of floor exercises, jumps, flips, rolls and those funny little kicks just to avoid the obstacles in my living room. Navigating my too-small house, past kid's toys, caregiving paraphernalia and normal clutter—hell, I celebrate whenever I "stick a landing."

Swimming
Emotionally (if not literally) we are all swimming in the caregiving pool, often in an effort to simply keep our heads above water. Some days my thoughts are this simple: focus, breathe, head up, head down, in sync. And we all pray that when we hit the wall, we can do that cool little kick turn that gets us ahead with a little breathing room to spare.

Relays
I've learned I am not a soloist; I need a team. It's something every caregiver should have-people to rely on even if you falter. Every once in awhile I need to pass that baton and let someone else run it in. And that's okay. I don't have to always run the race alone, I can count on my team. And that is really the heart and soul of caregiving—the team.

As far as I am concerned, we all win by just entering the caregiving arena. We may not score a perfect 10 every day, but we come pretty damn close.