Caring takes courage. The courage to open your home and heart to what is to come. The courage to advocate fiercely for those in your care. The courage to know the day may come when you will hear the words, “Who are you?” from your mother or father.
Sometimes it takes every ounce of your brave spirit to get up and face another day of doing this. Yet you do. You continue even when you feel a desperate need to run away from it all. There may be days when you do roar. When you rage against these terrible diseases. When you fight with your spouse over the unfairness of it all. Or in the dark moments when you lose your temper with the one in your care. Yes, it happens to you and it happens to others.
It happened to me. When it did I cowered in shame. When had I become weak and nothing but a coward afraid of what another day would bring. I cried. I prayed. I vented and I cried some more.
Finally, as the tears fell, washing away some of the stress, my strength grew and I heard that little voice again and I slept allowing me to regain the courage to try again tomorrow.
Don’t forget to help me gain the Attention of Dr. Phil. Join me in encouraging him to accept the Dr. Phil Challenge to establish a grant through the Dr. Phil Foundation to provide respite and assistance to caregivers who need it most. Go to the Dr. Phil website and leave a comment at http://www.drphil.com
The Imperfect Caregiver 
Jul 16, 2015 @ 15:18:29
Bobbi, Thanks for all your posts. I read them all, even though I no longer am a caregiver. My husband died 2 1/2 years ago, but I facilitate a Parkinson’s Caregiver Support Group here once a month, and I find your experiences very true to what is shared in my group.
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Jul 16, 2015 @ 15:23:21
Jane,
Thank you for commenting. I know how hard it is for caregivers and for those in care. I try very hard to be true to the caregiver experience and share what it’s really like. I would love to get family and friends of caregivers reading the blog and my book, Confessions of an Imperfect Caregiver so they can get some perspective about this without feeling taken to task by people they know.
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