We catch enough crap (literally and figuratively) from the ones you're caring for. Instead of support, occasional relief, gratitude and even compensated all we get is judged harshly for how and what we are doing. How did things get to be so twisted? The ones that are circling the drain, the ones who show up once a month for an hour, seem to be the very ones that get the big smiles and all their love. Is it true that absence makes the heart fonder? There's no such thing as a absent caregiver. Yep, I need lots of therapy.
My hubby’s father died last month . Hubby felt the same as you especially when he saw his Dad’s face light up and mood change with other people. Hubby also heard his Dad on the phone with his dead wife’s adult children . His Dad would cry and tell them he loved them and missed them. He hadn’t told his own son he loved him in who knows how many years. Hubby rescued him from ( living near no relatives ) 1200 miles away , brought him by us to live in assisted living . Managed his finances, appts , took him out , brought him take out etc .
Not one warm remark. Just cold “ thank you “ sometimes as if he was talking to another staff member. Hubby is left trying to process this in his brain .
I'm not a hands on caregiver, but more of a manager. For a while my dad was mad at me as I was "not letting him go home and forcing him to stay in AL". ( the truth is that I was not stopping him going home, but told him if he goes home, i'm not helping or supporting that unwise endeavor).
So he was not pleasant to me, but super nice to other family members who called once a month, as he thought and pleaded with them to "save him"... (which they didnt). Now he's back to being nice to me, and no one else is really calling very much, and when they do , hes back to complaining to them and not being super sweet (as none of them offered to save him). Oh- the other day he mentioned to my uncle that now, "My son has turned into my father and tells me what to do ". I'm actually pleased to hear that he has that impression of me!
its all super strange. But, as my friends tell me, and people on this forum have told me, regardless of what you are doing and your role, "don't be or act like a doormat".
Did you read that sad post where the fulltime Caregiver's Mother was end of life & the out of town sibling just turned up & compalined about the light globes?
I'm still in shock over THAT.
All throughout life it is difficult to live with another person be they your mother, father, brother, sister, roommate, spouse. You have to adapt and adjust, and it isn't just urban legend and songwriting that claims "You always hurt the one you love, the one you should hurt at all".
You know this. Think about it.
Also know that by being a caregiver you are no longer a spouse, a son, a daughter. You are a caregiver. The decider of every awful meal, every bad TV choice, every discomfort, every awful appointment. You are the CAREGIVER.
You can't return to being son and daughter.
THEY are the ones who stayed happily away.
You have made this choice.
You have to embrace it acknowledging what it is.
No one will praise you. They already feel guilty enough to have to do that. They will criticize you and tell you "you made this choice" (and in that they're right. They will tell you you aren't doing it well enough. They will tell you you shouldn't even be doing it.
I am so sorry. This is a part of what it is.
And it is very, very sad.
My heart goes out to you.
But letting a rant go even if its written down helps too. Thank You for your kind and wise words. s shepherd
We can all get through just about anything for a brief period of time. It’s incredibly hard when these situations seem to have no end in sight and it goes on for years!
Then we become overwhelmed and it’s way past time to start thinking about allowing others to help, either from a staff in a facility or from an agency or privately paid caregiver.
Long term caregiving for a person who does not improve ( and the longer it goes on ) is more depressing for all parties.