It’s easy to be sarcastic about healthcare in America - It’s even easier to be sarcastic about health insurance! – In fact, it’s so easy that, sometimes, we can confuse those two things, so let’s start there:
Health insurance is NOT healthcare. Healthcare keeps us going and as healthy as we can, or are willing, to be, and as a nation, we’re actually pretty darned good at it! We’re so good at it that a lot of us are living a whole lot longer than would have been imagined even a generation or two ago. Health insurance does…other stuff.
So, the “good news” is that a lot of us are living a whole lot longer! The “bad news” is that, in the course of living longer, a number of us require “care” – You know, somebody (or somebodies) to help us get through the day. We call those folks, which most of us are, have been or will be, “caregivers,” but since “caregivers” almost never call themselves “caregivers,” here’s my standard definition: A “caregiver” is somebody who is taking care of somebody who needs to be taken care of, whether they like it or not.
Does that sound at all like you to you? Then, WELCOME! – Because you’re “us.”
And, yeah, there are a LOT of us. We’re very different from one another in a whole lot of ways, but there’s one way in which we are a whole lot alike: We have to remember to take care of us, which isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
And if we don’t take care of us, what do you suppose happens to the folks that we’re taking care of? Right: Nothing good; so here’s our annual opportunity to take care of us.
The 6th annual “Building Your Caregiver Tool Box” conference will be held on Saturday, November 3rd, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 N. Blake Avenue, in Sequim, free.
We like free.
The theme this year is “Caregiving: How to Cope,” and if you’re somebody who is taking care of somebody, that phrase speaks to you – It speaks to me. After we get settled and get some morning munchies and say, Hi,” we’ll start the day with a panel discussion on how to recognize depression and treat it – Early! – By a panel who knows what they’re talking about. There will be breakout sessions on “Depression: What is it?” Cultural Values: Nurturing the Spirit in Our Diverse Cultures,” “Life Cycle-Life Review: Helping the Patient and the Caregiver Create a Personal History,” etc. as well as some other, more personal, options.
There will also be a free lunch, snacks, beverages, vendor and informational tables, a lot of us “professional-types” and other stuff that I’m, undoubtedly, forgetting - But here’s the best part: There will be a room full of people who are doing the same thing (more or less) that we’re doing, which means a room full of very smart, experienced and creative people.
That’s what puts the “us” into the us. You will walk away from this, at the end of the day, with something very special: You’ll walk away with hope.
What do you do? Call 360-452-3221 (1-800-801-0070) to register, and do it RIGHT NOW! These conferences fill up fast, which ought to tell you something. Can you bring your “person” with you? No, and here’s why: If you bring your person, then you’ll be doing what you do all the time, which is giving care, which means that you’ll be all about them, and not about you, and this is about you.
Us.
Do this. Care enough about your person to care about you, and to remember that you aren’t alone.
Now, let me talk, for a moment, to the “newbies” – The folks who are relatively new to this “caregiving” thing, be it from choice, necessity, fate, love or what seems like a CRUEL Universe:
Show up for this thing. I know you don’t have time, or maybe even the energy. And you’ll have to go through Lord-only-knows how much hassle to make sure your person is OK, while you’re away – I know. I get it. But here’s what you’ll find when you get there: A lot of laughter. I know that those topics that I rattled off above don’t sound “fun” – Or funny! – They aren’t. But what is funny (in more ways than one) is that caregivers laugh – A lot.
We could analyze the heck out of why that happens, but that would take a lot of the fun out of it. We laugh. And you’ll see very quickly the difference between laughing “at” and laughing “with.” And we don’t do a lot of “crowd control;” see, a big part of what makes these things work is caregivers talking to caregivers: laughing, commiserating, sharing discoveries and tricks and, sometimes, just being quiet – With other people who understand why, sometimes, just being quiet is good.
Don’t make a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be – Just figure out how to give yourself the gift of one lousy day, call the number above to register and just show up. If it turns out to be a waste of your time, you can take it out on me.
And I am so sure of myself on this one that I’m willing to take that chance.
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