Thought Provoking Thursday: Mothers

With Mother's Day being this weekend, I thought I would write about mothers.  (and yes, I'm avoiding the whole bin Laden thing)

My mom is a saint and she's worked hard for that coming from a childhood where she was forced to grow up too fast.  She rose above it and broke a cycle, which is not always easy to do.  Sure, she's had her not so pretty moments, but who hasn't.

But she was always there to bandage my wounds, worry when I wasn't home in time, and dry my tears.  It's not only me she's protected and nurtured.  She helped her own mother by buying her groceries, taking her on vacations because she didn't have the money to do those things, little or big, on her own.

She along with my dad help send more kids to college than I can even count.  Education is important do her.  She's a very smart woman.  She has business sense, common sense, and she can talk for hours about books and movies.

She works with the Hospitality Kitchen here in Tacoma, gathering donations of coats, socks, and toiletries, and delivering them a couple times a year, among her other philanthropical activities and donations.  I probably wouldn't be able to count how many organizations she donates to on both hands. 

And these last few years, she's protected me, guided me, listened to me, believed in me, and tried to understand me when perhaps I wasn't acting completely rational or reasonable or sane for that matter.

She's a beautiful person and has been a great example for me, and I can only hope that I'm even half the mom as she has been to me.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the moms out there.  It's one of the hardest jobs, if not the hardest, to raise kids, keep them healthy, and teach them how to become independent and confident adults.

The Caregivers of the World: Hospice

Hospice workers are awesome.  When my mother-in-law lived with us I saw first hand.  They bring in all the equipment you need.  The nurse's are great.  Very caring, informative.  They'll give the patient their meds and teach you how to do it as well.  They schedule days to come in and bathe them.  And my MIL not only had cancer, but she'd also had a stroke a few years earlier and didn't have the use of her tongue.  So they  taught me how to feed her through her feeding tube.

They aren't only there for their patient, but also for you.  They answer your questions, explain the stages of the illness, what's happening, what we could do to make it better, to understand it.  In a way they help us to accept what is imminent and support us after.  They're available 24/7.

My mother-in-law passed so quickly we didn't really have the opportunity to take advantage of all hospice had to offer.  They have many people willing to volunteer their time and talents to make people's last days as comfortable and fulfilling as possible, artists, massage therapists, etc.  Plus there are people who will just come sit with them, talk to them, or read to them.

They inspired me to make my MIL's stay as fun and comfortable as possible also.  So on top of caring for her, I'd pull my karaoke machine in and sing to her, watch movies with her, just sit and talk to her.

We used Franciscan Hospice whose slogan is, We bring light to the end of life, and you know what?  They really do.  If you're looking for a charity to donate too this year, or a way to volunteer your time, consider them. 

Ciao,

Megan