During this holiday season, my thoughts have turned to the blessings and gifts of caregiving. Now that my own parents and other loved ones have passed away, I have traded long days caring for them for shorter visits to the cemetery to place a Poinsettia and provide loving care for their gravesite. Days of stress, exhaustion, and guilt have given way to tender memories of doing my best to serve those I have loved.
Connie Goldman, author of The Gifts of Caregiving (available at Amazon.com) shares that through the caregiving experience “many of us learn something deeply meaningful and profoundly spiritual about ourselves. . . . We can expand our vision, touch new depths of compassion and gratitude, and reassess our priorities. A daughter, herself in her sixties, shared with me [the author] some thoughts as she reflected back on the time when she sat with her dying semiconscious mother. “Hard as it all had been taking charge of her personal care, seeing my own living patterns changed in almost every conceivable way, struggling with the guilt of never doing enough, still in some way I can’t really explain there’s been some immeasurable value in me just being there for her. Through this experience of caregiving, I think I’ve really grown and learned a lot about myself.”
My hope for each of you during this holiday season is that you will be able to take a few quiet moments to appreciate not only the immeasurable gift you are giving your loved one by walking alongside them in their journey, but the priceless gift they are giving you with their presence.
Merry Christmas.
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