My sister is the best person to have around when things have to be done. She really has an uncanny ability to view an entire situation and identify the individual tasks that need to get done. She’d be a great project manager. She’s good at delegation, too! (Ahem . . .)
My sister is an artist. She has an artist’s temperament and faces the usual artist’s challenges – little commercial success and lean finances. Yet, she remains committed to her art.
So, in addition to her natural strengths in tackling projects, and an affinity for helping when people need her, she’s often available to do just that. When my husband was sick, she took him to treatments and sat with him in the afternoons. She was there when he was dying, too, administering morphine shots and coordinating his care providers. She did the same for my grandma, before she passed away.
Sissy likes to pitch in and get her hands dirty, too. She helped me remove the asphalt shingle siding (aka “ghetto brick”) from my house. If I plant a garden and find that I’m too busy to tend to it, she’ll be there. She has painted my entire house, from top to bottom. She likes to do things for people.
But, being a caregiver for people whom she cares about is one of her greatest strengths. Over and over, I’ve seen my sister pack up her dog, grab some clean clothes, go to someone’s aid, and stay there until her work is done. Thank God, this time it’s improvement and independence, and not death, that marks that completion.
Sis moved into Mom’s house when she was released from rehab. She’s been coaxing, bullying, teasing and nagging Mom into following her exercise regimen, practicing her speech, moving the dreaded, springed clothespins from one place to another. In the hospital, when Mom was nearly immobile, my sister moved her limbs around the bed. She followed her into her therapy sessions in the rehab facility, encouraging her. For the last three weeks, she’s been feeding Mom nutritious, healthy meals, monitoring all of her vital levels, getting her to appointments, taking her dog to the vet and keeping her car maintained.
Her efforts are visible. Mom has more endurance than I’ve seen in probably ten years. She’s happy, sleeping at night and up and dressed at a decent hour. She has fun perusing the grocery ads, since my sister will make her any dish, regardless of its intricacy. Mom’s even trying to talk her into being the “family cook.” (Maybe she knows exactly what she’s in for when she moves to my house!)
My sister is an artist. She has an artist’s temperament and faces the usual artist’s challenges – little commercial success and lean finances. Yet, she remains committed to her art.
So, in addition to her natural strengths in tackling projects, and an affinity for helping when people need her, she’s often available to do just that. When my husband was sick, she took him to treatments and sat with him in the afternoons. She was there when he was dying, too, administering morphine shots and coordinating his care providers. She did the same for my grandma, before she passed away.
Sissy likes to pitch in and get her hands dirty, too. She helped me remove the asphalt shingle siding (aka “ghetto brick”) from my house. If I plant a garden and find that I’m too busy to tend to it, she’ll be there. She has painted my entire house, from top to bottom. She likes to do things for people.
But, being a caregiver for people whom she cares about is one of her greatest strengths. Over and over, I’ve seen my sister pack up her dog, grab some clean clothes, go to someone’s aid, and stay there until her work is done. Thank God, this time it’s improvement and independence, and not death, that marks that completion.
Sis moved into Mom’s house when she was released from rehab. She’s been coaxing, bullying, teasing and nagging Mom into following her exercise regimen, practicing her speech, moving the dreaded, springed clothespins from one place to another. In the hospital, when Mom was nearly immobile, my sister moved her limbs around the bed. She followed her into her therapy sessions in the rehab facility, encouraging her. For the last three weeks, she’s been feeding Mom nutritious, healthy meals, monitoring all of her vital levels, getting her to appointments, taking her dog to the vet and keeping her car maintained.
Her efforts are visible. Mom has more endurance than I’ve seen in probably ten years. She’s happy, sleeping at night and up and dressed at a decent hour. She has fun perusing the grocery ads, since my sister will make her any dish, regardless of its intricacy. Mom’s even trying to talk her into being the “family cook.” (Maybe she knows exactly what she’s in for when she moves to my house!)
My sis has taken fabulous care of Mom. Kudos to her!
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