National Family Caregivers Month

Did you know that this month is National Family Caregivers month?

NFC Month is organized annually by the National Family Caregivers Association as a time each year to thank, support, educate and empower family caregivers. "This year we are encouraging people to speak up during National Family Caregivers Month," said Suzanne Mintz, NFCA president and CEO. "One of the most important attributes of being an advocate for your loved one is the willingness and the ability to speak up and keep your eye on the ultimate goal, protecting not only the health and safety of your loved ones, but your own as well."

-NFCA Website

So often we lose sight of caring for ourselves while we care for our children, and this month reminds us that we need to remember that we're important players here, too.

Over the course of the past few months, one of the lessons I've learned is that "taking care of myself" means not only taking care of me personally, but also taking care of the relationships in my life that nourish me: emotionally connecting with my husband, my children, my extended family and friends. Without companionship life can feel very isolating quickly. It doesn't have to be much -- an "I love you," or a quick phone call or e-mail just to say "hello and I'm thinking about you." That's it. Staying connected is so important even though it can be difficult to do.

Another lesson that's come to me recently is that false starts are okay. There is so much rational, psychological and emotional energy spent on caring for our children -- making sure that they get the very best in the most efficient manner possible so that something else doesn't negatively affect their already compromised state -- that it can be hard to let go of that insistent, "Type-A" attribute when it comes to our own lives and downtime. It's okay to make mistakes, okay to try something and not follow through, okay to sit and just "be." This seems hard and frivolous, but we need to allow ourselves that type of freedom and breathing room amid the chaos of days.

We are each on our own journeys as we raise our children, and my lessons may not be yours. I encourage you to "speak up" in the comments here, on the Hopeful Parents Facebook Fan Page, or at our community online to share your story.

Oh, and in case you'd like to view President Barak Obama's official proclimation, click on its image below.

Comments

[elizabeth]

Thanks for sharing this! I'm going to post it on my blog tomorrow morning! It's so official-looking, which is nice, but I really wonder what exactly is going on officially to address the very real problems that caregivers face in states with ever-shrinking budgets.

[cms8741]

I couldn't agree with you more on what is the government really doing to help alleviate the strain. It's nice that they are acknowledging caregivers, but that "what have you done for me lately" song is playing in my head.

[Kathleen]

My comment is more geared towards what you said about yourself. My husband and I have been in full fledged crisis mode for 11 months and have put everything on hold because of it. For that entire time we were positive we were going to "fix" our daughter and life would go back to "normal"

After this last major treatment, bot my husband and I realized that we are unlikely to go back to normal and we need to readjust our lives to add some joy back into it. The only problem is that we don't know how to do this. We have hired a caregiver part time just to help out while I am home. We hope to eventually be able to perhaps go out to dinner or for a walk.

Your post is very timely for our family.