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A Job With Many Benefits
By Arleen M. Kaptur
When the word "caregivers" was penned to include those
who reverse roles for someone they love or even for a
stranger,
the need for understanding is set aside but not
forgotten. The
position usually is for an older person, many times a
relative.
It can come unexpectedly or as a matter of economics.
Whichever way you have been blessed to fall into the
realm
of caregiving, then realize that the benefits are
exceptional
and the need is so overwhelming.
Caregivers reap benefits that not everyone can
understand.
Usually they are unknown to the person they care for and
that soon
find themselves strangers to themselves. A
caregiver never
thought they could have the stamina, heart, and strength
to look
at a failing body or mind daily and not weep.
However, tears
make the other person wonder what they have done wrong
and
in essence, they have only provided an inlet into what
life is
all about. Whatever religion or belief you carry,
human beings
are tied together with a ribbon of woven lives and the
freedom
of loving. Even when days turn hectic or anxiety
fills the hours,
a caregiver's heart climbs that mountain or skirts that
valley
because they hold the hand of someone who would not be
able
to move forward if they weren't there.
People jump at the chance to hold an infant, the tiny
hands are
magnificent and the smile, though toothless, warms the
soul. As
for the aged, the hands are wrinkled and many times
discolored,
and the smile breaks through chapped and quivering lips.
Each
special in their own way and each carries a diamond in
the rough
that you, the caregiver, are there to polish and shine.
If you look
into the eyes of a young person, they are clear, and
inquisitive.
For the elderly, the eyes are many times dimmed but the
questions
are there, even though they cannot be put into words.
You cannot
imagine the strength that is transferred when you hold
the hand of
the one you care for. When you lean in to hear the
words, the action
dispels fears and trepedation. Tucking in a child
at night is matter
of course, but taking the time to tuck in an aging
person insures
that they fall asleep feeling loved and whole, even
though they may
not be able to explain it to you or to themselves.
Caregivers have a cloud over their heads as they work -
but it is a
mist of greatness. It is the pride of the heavens
that shields them
from the thunder and allows the gentle tears of love,
care, and the
deep soul power of making sure that the days are as
pleasant as
can be and the last words heard before bed are words a
person
can hang onto until morning, no matter what the
nighttime may bring.
If you are a caregiver then you work for an organization
that knows no
failures and rewards its employees with compensation
that the world
could never give. It is a smile you see when you
enter the room, the longing
look when you have to leave, and the hug, many times
weak, but still a
hug that transcends human strength and reaches into the
heart. As
someone who cared for a mother with advanced
Alzheimer's, I can
attest to the fact that when all is said and done, the
tears are tears of
joy that I was a part of the closing chapter, which is
something we all
will face. The last hug, kiss, and words that had
no meaning that the
mind could decifer, but the soul placed in the front
pages of a book that
is stored for eternity. It is dusted off when a
chance word or song comes
into the day. It is opened, cherished and then
closed for yet another day,
another word. The world may someday invent some
great reward but
no matter, I have mine tucked right next to my heart. It
is mine and no matter
what life may decide to create, the treasure will always
be there. It is a
bond between two worlds, and while I still do not know
the one, this one is
worth every memory.
Something to think about...
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