Where did the day go? It’s after 5 pm already. I got the dog walked this morning and to the groomer’s and back. I walked him again this evening, but now he’s refusing to eat his dinner. What’s up with that?
Cody’s routine has been interrupted of late. Rich was in the hospital for a knee replacement the end of January and since then has been recuperating at home with me as his caregiver. That role involves taking care of everything in the household including Cody and myself. Rich’s knee procedure had been postponed for eight weeks because I had an emergency surgery on the date he was originally scheduled. I needed him to be my caregiver and at that time he had care of, not only me, but the household, Cody, and himself.
We both know quite a bit about caregiving, being members of helping professions, and having taken care of sick and dying family members in our personal lives. I’ve even written a book about the importance of self-care for caregivers –
Stillpoint: A Self-Care Playbook for Caregivers to Find Ease, Time to Breathe and Reclaim Joy. But as I sink into my extreme tiredness, I must admit that I still do not find it easy. If I hadn’t taken a nap today I wouldn’t have made it through.
I needed to leave town last week for a family funeral, so we hired a dog walker for Cody, and Rich took care of himself with all the food I’d left and the help of friends stopping by. When I got back in town Sunday night Rich got extremely winded just lifting my suitcase up a few steps. He called his physician brother and we followed his advice to go to the ER. In the past four days he’s had lots of tests, several blood transfusions and a procedure to clamp off the ulcers he got from the medication he’s been taking while rehabbing his knee. We’re hoping he can get home tomorrow, but this saga will likely still take some time to resolve. In this 46th year of our time together, most of them in very good health, we understand the need for the “in sickness” line in marriage vows. Meanwhile Cody walks around the house, up and down the stairs, sometimes waiting at the top, for his master.
Here are a couple of offerings on the theme of Caregiving:
My co-author Christine Gautreaux and I are offering a ten-week LIVE online class for people involved in taking care of others – Self Care While Giving Care. The course begins March 5
th at 1 pm Eastern – Check it out and register to join us –
https://sheilakcollins.com/online-offerings/The Who Cares For the Caregivers online series Christine and I were involved in this past month is replaying the ENTIRE summit of interviews. You can re-watch any of your favorites, or if you missed any, this is your opportunity to catch up. This is a one-time offering, and it’s completely free. These interviews will not air again after February 22nd. —>>>
CLICK HERE to watch now
