I think one of the risks a Caregiver has is losing their sense of humor…or maybe it’s that their sense of humor doesn’t always fit in with the rest of the world anymore. Our lives are different, we are encircled by and focused on the needs of someone else in a very intense way. BUT, I also think that Caregivers need to remember how to laugh. So here’s a one of the Caregiver funnies we have in our house. 😉
Sometimes our entire schedule was dictated by the bowel schedule of one of our Care Recipients. If it was a “pooping day”, our Care Recipient really couldn’t leave the house and one of us needed to be home to, um, assist. Sometimes this derailed dinner plans, outings and even having an outside caregiver come to the house. Fun, right??
We would use the little “poop emoji” in texts to each other to give an account of the day (some people claim that smiling little pile of brown is supposed to be chocolate ice cream, but I beg to differ!) Five poop emojis and a smiley face meant the day was a HUGE success. A poop emoji and a frowny face meant things weren’t…”going” well.
I would say we were about two years into this fantastic lifestyle change when I was walking through Wal-Mart with my daughter. We turned the corner and there, in the middle of the aisle, in one of those big wire cage displays were gigantic stuffed poop emojis! Seriously, I couldn’t even walk I was laughing so hard. With tears of laughter filling my eyes, I made the best $20 purchase ever!!
We snuck that thing into the house and, since it was my husband’s turn for “nighttime duty”, we put it on the end of his bed before the rest of us went to sleep. It was about 2 am when I heard him laughing – he had walked into the room to see a big pile of poop smiling at him from the bed.
From then on, the poop could show up anywhere.
I came home one day and there was a smiling poop in our front window, welcoming me back home.
On particularly challenging poop days, it sat in the recliner in the living room – we were hoping for some inspiration and the power of suggestion!
Sometimes it showed up on a kids’ bed, in the truck, on the dining room table…it was an unlikely source of smiles (and a great spot for kitties to take naps). If we forgot about it and a visitor showed up, we had to explain while they did that “I have no idea why these people think this poop is so funny” smile & nod. That’s okay. Caregivers get it.
So I guess I’m encouraging you to go out, find the funny poop in your life and share it with other Caregivers. Maybe even share it with someone who isn’t a Caregiver – give them a little insight from a humorous perspective. Whether they acknowledge it or not, they will probably be a Caregiver someday too and will appreciate your story more later in their journey.
My smiling poop is a bit deflated now after years of amusing us, but it will be on the CareTreks Instagram today – so take a minute to find it and feel free to share a story of your own either here or there.
You know, spread the poop around a bit 😉
~ Amanda