When things get tough, Inez tries to be patient and feel thankful for what she has.
Transcript
My neighbour over here gave me a clock. I don’t know if you noticed it when you came in there hanging on the wall in the utility room. It’s a little square wooden clock, and all the numbers have all fallen cockeyed. Down around the bottom of the clock it says, “Who cares?” So, she gave that to me. She said, “This is you. You never get stressed out of anything. Who cares?” So, when I think of things are getting tough, I just think of the clock that she gave me and, “Who cares? Does it really matter?” Does it really, really matter? No it really does not matter. Be thankful for what we have.
Okay and based on your own experiences what advice would you have to other caregivers or friends and family?
Consider each situation, but one of the things is “just be patient, just be patient”. Like I said, “Who cares?” Is it that important that you get stressed out over it, or you get angry over it or, or depressed over it? No, no it doesn’t matter at all. Just hang in there and grin and bear it. There’s an end and you never know what blessings will come because of the way you acted.
I worked in a government office for 17 years and got one complaint against me. It came from head office. So the boss I was working with, he said, “We’ve had a complaint against you.” And I said, “What is it?” He said, “They wonder why you’re happy all the time.” Different people would come in and they—[it] was a place where there was mostly men clientele—would come in mad and going at me. And I’d just stay calm and answer their questions and show them the rules and regulations, if that had to be and so on. So, it came back to me different times that they would meet up then with the boss and they’d say, “Well, what’s with her? I went in there giving her a blast and I came out smiling. Isn’t she ever upset? Doesn’t she ever get mad?” “No, worked with her for years and she’s never gotten angry. No.” What does it do for you? It makes you worse. No, I’m always happy. So, that’s one thing I would say. Whatever your situation is, just try to be happy.
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- Uncovering how and why caregivers care – InezInez and her husband have lived together for 64 years. She does not see the caregiving as a problem, but rather as a part of their life together.
- Health system issues – InezInez feels she has to rely mostly on herself. She hasn’t been able to see a physician since hers retired.
- Caring for yourself – InezWhen things get tough, Inez tries to be patient and feel thankful for what she has.
- Advice for other caregivers – InezInez suggests being patient. You just need to hang in there and grin and bear it; you never know what blessings will come your way because of the way you acted.