It’s Day 2 of the A to Z Challenge! Only 24 more posts to go on the theme of caregiving. When it comes to caring for bodies, don’t forget to take care of your own, fellow caregivers! Like the flight attendants tell us “put on your own oxygen mask first”…

I am a caregiver. I care for people when they can’t care for themselves. Since we all live in bodies, bodily care is pretty high on the list of things to do.

When I studied to become a nurse, I thought of bodily handicaps in a very superficial way. It was more about learning to do interesting procedures correctly, or knowing what external treatments would help in different situations. Working in hospice, and in elder care has given me a different perspective. I began to think of all the things I do for my own body, that gradually become difficult, then impossible, for some to do for themselves.

As a caretaker, I have clipped fingernails and toenails, given haircuts, tweezed eyebrows and chin hairs, scrubbed backs, wiped butts, picked food out of beards, rubbed lotion on dry parts and cleaned up every kind of bodily discharge there is. I’ve chosen clothing and dressed people, washed, blow dried and combed their hair and flossed and brushed their teeth. I’ve cleaned ears. I’ve helped people walk, sit, and lie down when they couldn’t make their bodies do those simple actions. And I’ve spent hours trying to help people be comfortable in their own bodies.

Two questions serve as my starting points. The first, “Am I taking as much care with my client/family member’s body as I would with my own?” It’s kind of the “do unto others…” philosophy. And the second question is “Am I being sensitive to, and respectful of, their own ways of doing things?”

I have a whole different outlook on the world when I’m clean, comfortable, and well groomed. I like to look good – most people do. That desire is still there even when people are disabled, elderly, or sick. Helping them achieve those qualities helps them feel better, and heal better. It’s important work.

I am a caregiver.