Perhaps I was a tad hasty

Caregiving is a tireing profession.
Noone understands it as well as another Caregiver.
It is strange but sometimes a simple "Good job" from a coworker makes you feel rejuvenated.
I try to be the one who remembers to say thank-you. Some times I forget.
I have to be rigorous about stretching every day, and a very large and nutritional breakfast is a MUST.
The grateful journal is a tool I believe changed my life. I go to bed so very thankful to be alive.
I really do love my job.
Some of the situations are messed up but what isn't in this topsy turvy world?
It is all about how you deal.

A month or so ago I had a bad situation at work when a regular client of mine was in a delerium.
The behaviours were difficult but worse was the spouses anger and how it was directed.
I did not like it ONE BIT and of course I am unlikely to ever pretend something wrong is right.

Now the Spouses of those requiring heavy care bear burdens that need to be shared.
Alot of these people cannot see themselves burning out. They take on more and more.
One of the telltale signs is the blame game.
As they get closer to burn-out, you hear little jabs here and there about this person or that person.
Never you, of course, always someone else.
I am notoriously blunt. A straight shooter. I hate the BS blame game.

So in this home, the game is afoot as soon as my foot enters the door.
The shower curtain was not put up correctly and scratched the newly painted wall.
The carpet was vacuumed with the wrong end of the cleaner warping the beaters.
The dishes were put away in all the wrong cupboards and it took *hours* to find things.
Blah bloody blah blah blah.
What a load of manure. I just tune it out.

I was helping my co-worker transfer this gentleman last week when a commanding voice called out *STOP*
Since this is not my boss, I disregarded it.
A loud yell.
"I SAID STOP!"
Then we got a five minute lecture on how to transfer people without damaging dangling body parts.

I am pretty cool at work. After all I get to leave. They have to stay. It is their life.
Is it worth it for her to be a 24/7 caregiver to a guy she didnt know all THAT long before the accident?
Of course he does have a tidy pension that enables a pretty decent lifestyle...
and of course he will never say anything negative about her as the alternative is living fulltime in a facility.

But I must have conveyed my displeasure in some silent manner.
The next day I was working with a different person in the same home.
My co-worker said to me: "Hey if you dont want another issue just dont be touching anything."
She already knew all about our reeducation.

Petty petty petty.
It is not very nice to try to pit worker against worker but it is common with manipulative family members.
It is the control.
If they cannot control you, they bloody well WILL control what is said about you.

I had thought this particular person had learned something in her counselling and followup after her striking out in the presence of workers.
Perhaps I was a tad hasty.

I will be SO glad when all the holidaying people are back.
I get to go back to being there just once or twice in a week.

One more little jab and she might find herself on the less desirable end of a conversation.
I overlook well. But: once in my face is unfortunate.
Twice in my face is a very serious error.
We have the right to respect.
I don't go for disrespecting people in their absence. I am not much for it in their presence either but at least it is honest.
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