FROM THE EDITOR'S PEN /
The Sounds of Silence /
Editorial List
Last week I returned from a place
that knows me as royalty. I am after all, a Duke of
Paducah, a title bestowed upon me by the Mayor of
Paducah, Kentucky through an official proclamation
(which now hangs on my office wall). Truth be known,
I was hoping for an advanced title upon my return to
my duchy, but I found that there is actually no such
thing as “King of Kentucky”.
Oh, well. I was
back to speak at the
third annual caregivers conference
hosted by the Purchase Area Development District.
It was a terrific event and as usual, I learned so very
much from the caregivers in attendance.
For instance, when
we got around to talking about the
Reverse Gift List
concept, I asked the attendees for a list of the
things that they would like to ask friends and family
members to do to help them as they care for their loved
ones. A caregiver stood up and said that it would be
nice to have someone come by just to listen. She
completed her comments by saying “I m not asking for
them to try and fix everything, or placate me or console
me or even to respond to my comments, I just want
someone to simply listen to me.” And with that said, her
fellow caregivers burst into applause. I think that her
request strikes at the heart at one of the reasons why
we don’t always get the support we need from our friends
and family members; they don’t know what to say or how
to respond to our pain and fears, when sometimes their
very presence is all the response we need.
Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com
