It Could Have Been A Hallmark Commercial

Welcome to Caregiver Friday!!

Every so often I have an experience that let’s me see how the folks at Hallmark come up with their movies and their greetings cards.  A scene that couldn’t have been scripted better if the best writers in Hollywood wrote it and the best actors in the country played it.  It’s what love, compassion, and understanding is all about, and when I see it in person it renews my faith in what we as humans are capable of when caring for another individual.

It was an elderly gentleman (probably late 80’s) and his adult daughter.  They came to buy him a new mattress; sounded like he was moving in with her after living independently up till this point.  We gave them all the paperwork they needed to pick up the merchandise.  At the end of the transaction she takes his arm, and says to him, “I’ll wash this (the mattress pad) before we pick p the mattress so everything will be clean and ready for you.”  Then they walked arm-in-arm out of the store and went home.

As I watched the two of them interact and then leave the store I thought about how lucky he is to have someone in his life that would care for him so lovingly and gently.  I thought about how independent he is trying to be and is doing quite well given the circumstances.  I thought about how lucky he is to be receiving the support he needs and being allowed to stand on his own two feet, literally and figuratively, so that this transition is as easy as possible.  Then it occurred to me; she’s lucky to have someone in her life that taught her by example about being loving and gentle.  She’s lucky because she was shown the importance of allowing someone to maintain their independence no matter their age.  She’s lucky because she is to have learned that independence doesn’t have to mean being submissive, but a collaborative experience.

I hope as caregivers you re-experience what you were taught by example about being someone’s caregiver.  There is a trickle down theory in place and it shows itself in moments like the one I was honored to witness.  What’s your Hallmark moment?  Leave it in the comments part of the post and let’s all experience what’s possible.