Make a Difference

Some memories are made. Especially for the caregivers out there, finding and creating memories of happy moments in your caregiving journey will stay with you long after the journey is finished.

Memories are not just about what happened in the past. For you and the person you are caring for, it is equally important to have good memories from a time in your life that can often be stressful, exhausting, and hard work.

I remember one day when I was in Sweden helping to care for my mother while she was very ill last year, one of the nurses (who visited every morning) arrived wearing sandals and red polish on her toenails. This cheered my mother up to no end, so she decided that she would like to have some on hers. I was sent to the shop to get the polish, with strict instructions that the color had to be raspberry red.

I bought the polish and painted her nails. My mother was delighted with her raspberry-red toenails. Not many other people saw them as she was in bed most of the day at this stage, but it made her day. Even under the covers of the bed, she knew they were there!

I will always remember this as a little ray of light in this period of her life which was not as my mother had envisaged it would become or ever wished it to be.  

If we as carers can help to make little moments of sunshine in the life of those we are caring for, isn’t it so worth it?

Thank you for sharing my memory with me, Maria Brady.