FROM THE EDITOR'S PEN
/ Those Four Little Words
/
Editorial List
As far as I am concerned, there are two sets
of three little words that every family
caregiver needs to have at their disposal and
use as frequently as possible.
The first set is obvious to you romantics out
there—it is, of course, “I Love You.” You
can't say that enough. Add in a smile and a
warm hug for good measure. Any longtime
newsletter reader will already know what the
second set of words is and that it must be used
unfailingly and fearlessly whenever necessary:
“Who’s your supervisor?” Those words will
work wonders when you face any unreasonable
roadblock as you care for your loved one.
Recently, at the first annual Houston
Fearless Caregiver Conference at the Chapelwood
Church, a family caregiver expanded my
caregiving vocabulary. It turns out that
she was getting extremely frustrated by having
to answer the same questions over and over again
from her mother who was living with Alzheimer's
disease.
After one such session, she was about
to respond angrily to her mom, who would not
understand anything but the anger in her
daughter's voice. Before she had a chance
to speak, her husband (a wise man, indeed) took
her aside and said the following four words.
These became the mantra of the event that day in
Houston. I would like you to say them to
yourself whenever those unimportant things that
happen make us lose our perspective. The
phrase is: “What Does It Matter?”
Indeed.
Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com
