A few weeks ago I was lying in bed and a commercial came on television for the Ninja Woodfire grill. Grilling is one of my favorite summertime activities and I was a little bit hungry when the commercial came on so it really caught my attention.
The commercial showed people grilling outside on their back deck and right outside the kitchen door and I thought to myself "You know that would be good for me so that I wouldn't have to go so far to use my grill."
So I looked it up online and I found it with my favorite four-letter word "sale" attached to it and I made my purchase. Grilling is a great way for me to carve out some quiet time for myself but I haven't done it very much in recent years.
Mom can't really chew grilled food and I only have a medium-sized kettle grill, so it's a lot of work to pull that grill out, clean it, and and fire it up only to cook a few pieces of chicken and a couple of chops. So when I saw this new grill I thought this would be a perfect compromise for me.
I can do something I love doing without all the work that it takes to do it. At this point in our care journey, life is pretty stable. Although there are no challenges or upheavals that we're facing, I still need that quiet time to myself.
There are times when I want to think about something other than what I have to do in order to care for my mom. Carving out quiet time for myself gives me those breaks that I need so that I can continue caring for her.
I was so excited when my grill arrived. I ran out on the back porch and just imagined where I was going to put it. And then I looked around and realized I don't have an outlet back here.
Yes, the commercial did say that it was electric but I was so taken by the idea of having something small that I could use on the back porch, that information just flew totally past me.
Oops! My only outlets are on the back of the house and in the garage, but that's okay I can put mom on the on the back porch where I can see her while I'm outside on the patio grilling and smoking my food with my new toy.
My encouragement for you this week is to give yourself a treat that will bring you joy. Remember that care-giving is what you do for your loved one. Giving-care is what you do for both of you.
Thank you for reading.
Be well until next time,
-Dr. Sheri
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Dr. Sheri L. Yarbrough is an author, caregiver, and founder of Praxis Senior Care-Giving Solutions, a consulting business that provides care-givers with practical and easily implemented strategies that can be tailored to meet their individual care needs.
View Dr. Yarbrough's weekly blog on all things caregiving from a caregiver's perspective.
Listen to Dr. Yarbrough's Podcast: Straight Talk for Giving-Care.
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