It ’s Christmas Day: Are You Enjoying It?

Many people are celebrating Christmas Day, today, December 25th. Caregivers may find the word celebrating a little over the top but try not to be too dismissive. If you are caring for a parent or spouse who doesn’t recognize you for who you are, that doesn’t mean your efforts are unappreciated. Know that on some level, your love is understood. Celebrate that. If you have rushed around like a wild person trying to make a perfect holiday happen for your family, well, today you are done no matter where you are in the process. Celebrate that. To me – a rather obsessive person when it comes to doing everything that I can do to make something right for everyone else – there’s something nice about knowing that I can do no more. The time has come that I must be done, so I may as well enjoy myself and accept the less than perfect results. There’s an old saying dating back to William Shakespeare that I should attach to the wall next to my computer. It reads, “To thine own self be true.” This may seem like a selfish statement, but it’s not. The rest of the quote ends like this: “We can then be false to no man.” This quote is from literature, not a religious text. However, the Bible does say we should love our neighbor as ourselves. This kind of self-love isn’t meant to be egotistical. Rather, it’s a way of knowing that we, too, have value, and when we respect that value we can be better at loving our neighbor. Caregivers can easily get c...
Source: Minding Our Elders - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Source Type: blogs