Dear Family of Love on Our Journey,
I started thinking about caregiving and the caregiver and decided this would be a good time to talk about taking care of yourself on Take Care Tuesday. Yes we are all caregivers! Name someone who takes care of someone, animals,the environment, and those in ministry.If you are any of the members of my family who are in ministry of any kind you are a caregiver! No one is exempt from this.Sorry! We all have to learn how to take care of ourselves before we take care of others. Like the oxygen mask on the plane. So where does that lead us? I think the place that leads us is first into the arms of God and having balanced life. A balanced life is having your body, mind, and spirit in harmony. If one of those suffer they all do.Here is my how to guide and these are only suggestions:
Prayer and meditation are number 1! They help in more ways than one! If you have a faith community lean on them in a good way. Seek spiritual nourishment and support. Don't forget to let your clergy or one of your parish family members know what is going on. We hate to learn of situations after the fact! We really don't hate it, but we'd rather be at the beginning than at the end, when chaos breaks loose.
Have a grateful heart.
Have the end of life conversation re: living wills, advanced directives, funeral plans. Don't wait!
Eat right! Watch carbs and alcohol.
Keep it simple and choose your battles.
Go for a walk.
Ask for help and don't be proud and stubborn about asking. Don't micromanage! Delegate responsibilities if you work. Need to talk to someone go through Facebook Chat or instant messaging. I use this for my cyber friends and a kind of cyber ministry when people need to have my ear. This really does work. Twitter DMs are good for breezy bullet point alerts to you. You have to keep it brief, so a novel can't be written. I use it for confidential prayer requests in much the same way as I do with Facebook Chat.
Let family members know what's happening! If you are a Facebookie, post. When you see a family member in need of prayer or help on FB. Like their post and comment or send a message! RESPOND AND DON'T TREAT THEM LIKE THE PERSON IN THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN! DO NOT AVOID CRIES FOR HELP AND DO NOT AVOID FAMILY MEMBERS WHO ARE STILL GRIEVING! Do not be afraid to respond. Responding helps avoid being reactive and making the person in need of help feel unloved, invisible, and not worthy of your time. If they are family member they are worthy of your love, time, and attention. On Facebook Like = Love and Got the message! Twitter Favorite means the same thing.
Go to a caregiver support group.
Keep up an up to date medical file on the person you are caring for. Med lists and doctor lists.
Keep up on your medical check ups too.
Take time to go outside and get Vitamin D! 20 minutes every day with arms exposed. Not in the cold like it is wherever you are. Also if you are under doctor's care and they tell you not to. Don't do it.
Unplug and unwind by walking, reading, listening to music.Go to a movie, concert, or play.
Get at least 8 hours of sleep.
Keep your fluids up.
Take time for fun! Whatever fun means to you!
Go for a walk and pray.
Do easy meal prep! Take out is always acceptable.!
Let your immediate family members know if you are going to be out of town.
Don't get rapt up with reality TV or bad advice shows. Be careful of whom or what you listen to on Christian Radio.
Play a sport or a musical instrument if you know how.
Take a class at a community center or college. Lots of non-credit classes available.
Take time to have coffee with a friend.
Go for a drive. Go on retreat. Take a weekend away.
Look into long term care insurance before you or your elderly relative needs it.
Just like we talked about in our Advent reflections: Keep it real and don't get overwhelmed by expectations for the person you are caring for. That means you too!
Remember being a caregiver doesn't just mean you are caring for someone else it extends right back to you. So, dear family be a good caregiver to yourself. I love you, you matter, and please take care! I prayed for all of us while I wrote this and as I walked tonight.
Love and peace of mind and I give thanks to God for you this day and always!
Sara
Musical Sampler
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