Another Great song

I don't know what it is about this song that I like but I do.

Fun Stuff

So I found a park that I really like that has a good disc golf course. I have realized that the best time to get practice in there is to go during the day on a weekday. I need some serious target practice though!! I even looked up how to throw correctly! Definitely can't wait to get some practice in, some of the others that I have seen are really good.

Just a Little moment that made my Week

Traffic is simply a part in the city, more often then not including tired, mildly stressed adults who in a lapse of judgement finish their coffee just before hopping in the car. But occassionally there are moments when little bits of fun happen. On my way home from work today just as I was about to cross the St. John's bridge I let a school bus go ahead of me. Sitting in the back of the bus were about six 4th grade girls. As the bus was pulling in front of me I noticed that they were waving with happy abandon in farewell to the car that had previously been behind them they picked up the greeting with me. I waved back. They smiled excitedly and began to converse amongst themselves. Thinking that was all they wanted I was soon lost in my own thoughts. When I looked back at the bus they had a little note waiting in the window for me to read, saying that they liked my hair and sunglasses, to which I responded by signing THANK YOU. They smiled more and wrote more notes to which I responded with  more signs, we had a whole conversation, us 7, and the long minutes of sitting in a hot car or bus on a bridge went by swiftly and with much energy! Never underestimate the little things like conversations held in unique ways and like the bilingual one that happened on the bridge today. It was so precious to watch all 6 of them huddled around in the heat to create the next note that they wanted to present to me, and the teamwork involved when I responded. Made me smile the rest of the way home when my path moved away from theirs.

Made in the Image of God

Over the last several weeks I have learning a lot about Deaf Culture and reading a bit about the Civil Rights movement. While they aren't really related there was some overlap in what I was learning. 

NASA lead the way for integration especially in Virginia. If you haven't read this book yet I highly recommend it.

Another great read! 

The crayons on the left are labels that were given to Deaf people in the 1800s and before, and sometimes still. This piece was done by a Deaf artist named Ann Silver.

                                          

This painting and the one below are by a Deaf artist named Chuck Baird. His work is amazing.

 

My Sister Shelf

Relaxing Aquarium

Adventure with the Seesters

Not pictured is our adventure to the Evergreen Waves and Wings Water Park.

Bones McCoy

Just one of my favorites.

Why Do I Do the Things I Do

"What do you do for work?"



How does one answer that question when what you do is so multi-faceted? Or even when what you do is misunderstood or even thought of as heroic. Way to often when I answer this question people respond with, "Oh!!! How wonderful!! I bet you're just such a blessing to those people! You are just so perfect for that job!"

I don't know maybe I am good at it...
Maybe I bless the people I serve...
Maybe it is wonderful that I work in the field that I do...


But why wouldn't you give the same  kringe worthy cliches to people who are going to be engineers or construction workers or pet store clerks or even to the gas guy? Because it doesn't work the same way right?!?! You wouldn't even say that to a doctor or a nurse, but then again I could be wrong.

What I do is hard, yes. Stressful? you bet there are moments when it gets stressful. Physically exhausting? Without a doubt. Mentally exhausting even? Oh most definitely!  Sometimes, more often then not, all these things are felt at once in the most confusing array, to the point that all I want to do is curl up in a ball and cry... then sleep for 3 days straight.

There are times when my listening skills come in real handy... not just to hear how exactly a task should be done, but to hear past that task and see that the real reason for such description in detail is a last grasp at the last bit of control that is quickly slipping away.


I don't do my job because it's easy. I don't do it because I want praise for "being a blessing." I don't do my job because it's easy money. I don't even do it because I have the perfect temperament for it.

I do my job because I feel that God has called me to do it. I love my job, warts and all. It's not glamorous. There aren't any accolades to go with it. People don't know how to respond when I tell them what I do. I think the reason is because the demographic that I work for is still unseen by the larger society. And not just unseen but looked down upon as less than. It's messy work.

So in answer to the question... I am a caregiver for people with disabilities.


But in so many ways I'm not just there for the member of the family who has a disability, I'm there for the whole family. It's hard to explain. But with a job like mine I become an honorary member of the family while I work for them. Helping around the house, being part of important life events both the big and the small. My thoughts on a wide range of topics are solicited.

Seven years ago almost 8 now, I started volunteering with Joni and Friends, an organization that ministers to families and individuals affected buy disabilities. 2.5 years ago I started my job as a caregiver. To say that it has been all fun and games would be a lie. There have been some really amazing moments, moments that make my job so worth while. And there are moments that are not so glamorous.

I love my job. Even when I get home from a really long shift feeling like I can't get into bed fast enough.

I have learned so much and will continue to learn so much. No 2 clients are ever alike. If you have one client, you will never have another client like that one. Yes you will gain experience and it will come back to serve you well, but each person, each situation is going to be vastly different.


This job keeps you humble and dependent on God in all things. My prayer life has gotten so much better the longer I work in this field.

No... I'm not perfect. No I'm not the best caregiver in the whole wide world. No I'm not.
What I am though is willing to try, willing to make mistakes, willing to learn from those mistakes.

So next time someone tells you they are a caregiver, skip the cliches. Talk normally with them about it. Ask them questions if you don't understand something. If they can't answer a question for privacy reasons they will tell you. It's nothing personal, it's just not their information to talk about.

Sometimes a caregiver needs a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes we just need a listening ear to vent about things that are seemingly insignificant. Sometimes we need someone willing to be the distraction from any craziness that is happening in their personal or professional life. And sometimes they just need the world to understand that their social quotient has been used up for the week or month and that its not that they don't want to see you its that they don't have the energy emotionally or physically to leave the house.


So yes, I love what I do.

I am a caregiver.