Caregivers & March Madness

Caregivers + March Madness = ?

March Madness is all about basketball. College basketball, to be exact. It’s a 30-day frenzy of game after game until at least a winning team (most stamina + basketball smarts) comes off the court having beaten every opponent they faced.

In many ways, this is what caregivers want to experience, too. While caring for a loved one isn’t a sport it does takes place within a designated time frame with a clear cut goal of victory at the end. Caregivers need to apply skill, disciple, effort and more. And even with all that, they realize that victory is not a simple matter. Sometimes it can last for only an hour or a day.

I read a March Madness blog by Carrie Steckl (a.k.a. Dr. Chill) that cleverly summed up the ways a caregiver’s world is like March Madness. Here are the points she made:

Nobody’s perfect: Expectations have to be reasonable and disappointed has to be handled in order to keep going.
Anything can happen. You never know what will happen and what fast break is headed your way.

Heart can trump ability. Faith in yourself can help when you need more than your skills.

We can start over. Each game, each day is a new chance to be a winner.

Enjoy the ride. The journey is a roller coaster of emotions: some up, some down.

Those of you who have been or who are caregivers can certainly related to this list. I know I can. My hope is that recognizing how much you put into the care you give and how much uncertainty there can be, you will see that you are already a champion.

I encourage you to read the entire blog written by Steckl a part-time faculty member at Columbia College of Missouri who writes about faith, wellness, and caregiving.