May 31, 2018
From the YOUR CAREGIVER MINUTE Series by author/radio host and 30-year family caregiver, Peter Rosenberger. Brought to you by Medi-Share 855-25-SHARE
Much of the heartache I’ve endured as a caregiver is a result my unwillingness to accept things as they are. A friend once told me that acceptance doesn’t mean agreement. I may not agree with or like what I carry, witness, or endure, but I can accept that it is what it is …and be calmer while enduring it. That doesn’t mean it’s fatalistic; it’s just realistic.
My wife helped teach me this when she lost both of her legs. She didn’t like being a double-amputee, but it became her new reality. And striving against it or wishing something different wasn’t going to bring back her legs.
As caregivers, we can accept things without agreeing with them. In the process, we can live a little more peaceful with the often-chaotic events in our lives.