CAREGIVING AND THE HOLIDAYS
As, this Holiday Season begins, I have a few words of wisdom to share with regard to Caregiving during the Holidays. Since I’ve been a Caregiver, I’ve learned some lessons–most of them the hard way. To spare you of the same fate, here are some Holiday tips to help you to save your sanity while the rest of the world appears to be “making merry” and enjoying televised sporting events.
- Begin the day with the knowledge that Caregiving duties never cease.
- Don’t expect to wake up feeling celebratory because the Church, the Government or Hallmark has called the day a Holiday.
- Do not volunteer to host Holiday Dinners
- If you do host, prepare dishes that you enjoy cooking and eating.
- Use Paper Plates. I realize that this seems sacrilegious, but seriously do you really want to wash more dishes than you normally do?
- Do NOT expect any additional understanding, support or appreciation for all that you do just because the Holiday has been billed as a day of Joy or Thanksgiving.
- Dress for the occasion ONLY if it helps you feel more festive.
- Try to resist the urge to make Holiday Plans that you will be unable to keep.
- Make sure that you have an adequate supply of wine. Caregiving and Holidays are a recipe for “stress and frustration with a side of potential misery.”
- When friends and relatives ask, “What’s new?” or “What have you been up to?” resist the urge to strangle them while loudly whispering or silently shouting, “I’m a Caregiver, WTF do you think I’ve been doing?”
- Expect that the Holiday will closely resemble the day before except perhaps for any Seasonal decorations.
- At some point, raise a glass of wine to toast yourself–you are experiencing and surviving a Caregiver’s Holiday!
- Always remember and never forget, that in the Caregiver’s World a Holiday is just another day.
MADONNA -“HOLIDAY”
https://youtu.be/ltSpd7Rh_sM?si=Bez1nuTivsNtcpI1
“A CAREGIVER’S CONSCIENCE PODCAST” – “CAREGIVING THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS” the remix
https://youtu.be/pmDWiYHlsp0?si=k3ZtEmLQyRqtKJEu
“A CAREGIVER’S CONSCIENCE” – THE BLOG
A gift for the Caregiver would be great.
🌷