Roller Coasters and Caregiving

Okay, I admit it. I am a roller coaster freak. I love the speed, the thrill of the climb upward, knowing that what goes up must come down at a roaring epic speed! I am addicted to the fast, furious, twisted metal that takes my breath with every turn. However, I have over done it greatly lately. I have gone to the same theme park for eight weeks now, riding the coasters, once, twice, three...no FOUR times each visit. I have successfully ridden them so many times now that I know the turns, I know when to lean to the right, lean to the right...I know where the turns are, where the wooden coaster creak and moan at, and when to brace for the abrupt stops. I have ridden them all so many times, it is no longer fun or exciting. It is rather boring actually.
Imagine the caregivers,not only in long term health care facilities, but in the home setting as well. They ride the same roller coaster every day, doing the same thing over and over, without any reprieve in sight. We study the turn over rate in health care and wonder why staffing issues are so prevalent and worrisome, when yet if we all studied hard enough, I think we would see burn out is the root cause.
Caregiving of a dementia patient, or to any person dependent on us, is hard work. I believe in giving credit where credit is due, and caregivers have my utmost respect. They work hard, providing  care to challenging residents, and wake up the next morning to repeat yesterday over again. They on a roller coaster ride all of their own. They know which residents  that are  going to be aggressive, which residents will refuse their lunch and demand an alternative, and they know which resident will scratch them during their ADL care..they know this because they have ridden this ride many times before. 
Caregivers deserve a round of applause for the service they provide. The staff at my facility are the most dynamic group of caregivers I have ever met, exceeding the standard of care set before them. There are days when we all miss the mark. Days when everything goes wrong, staff snap back and forth at each other, and the residents are just a bit nerve wrecking. The day is no different than any other, but on these types of days, we all have to step back, recognize that it's time to take a break, and come back at it  different way. Just as I need to stop riding the same roller coasters incessantly because the thrill is gone, and it's now mundane...caregivers need to unwind, feel appreciated and know the value of the service they provide. The ups and downs and curves of the job will always be the same, it's the perspective that counts. 
I may step back from my roller coaster addiction for a week, or I may change my perspective. I may ride them with my eyes closed instead of open. I may move from the front seat to the middle. I may scream the whole time, trying to excite myself.
Regardless of how I ride the coasters, one thing is for sure. I will keep on riding them until I am just too plain old to climb down into those super skinny rocket seats. I will, for the same reason caregivers care for the residents every single day.
Because I love it.