June 2013
Welcome --
The Lesson:
Choices / Consequences ~
Take care of Your Self.
A while ago, I got a call from the daughter of an upstairs neighbor. She was at work, her mother had fallen -- no injuries -- yet couldn't get up on her own. Could I help?
I had a break in my schedule, access to their house keys, and a soft spot in my heart for her mother. Why not? -- especially since I'd chosen to take the call. (Realize how many choices I'd already made up to this point.)
I let myself in, made sure she wasn't in danger or injured, and set about righting her. This is where the depth of my lesson began.
She's a woman in her 80's -- overweight, not very mobile, fiercely proud to a fault and adamant about what she will and won't allow.
She did not have the upper arm strength to push herself up. She couldn't kneel or bend her legs enough to slowly stand. She was too heavy to lift and she didn't have
enough leverage or traction to assist in the effort. The options I offered were all vetoed, including getting another neighbor ( a strong, agile man) to help.
After forty minutes of exertion, sweat and ingenuity, I maneuvered her enough towards the seat so she could roll over on it and slide herself up to sitting in her favorite arm chair.
We chatted for a bit and when she was settled, I left her eating the bread pudding she had been enjoying before she tripped over a wayward area rug.
A few days later, I followed up with her daughter, to get some system in place -- a medical alert pendant, less clutter, no area rugs, etc. -- and she said she'd see to it.
To this day, nothing has changed -- except that once her mother is settled into her chair, she remains there for the better part of the day......
I can't tell you how many times through how many attempts I was reminded that the choices we make today often have an impact decades from now. Years ago, she was urged to lose weight, move more, get the clutter our of her house, and take different care of herself so she wouldn't have to take the meds she's currently taking.
She chose not to exercise any one of these options. And there we were, on the floor together, maneuvering among cartons, too much furniture and other gear that was just gathering dust. There was little that could be done at that point, and I realized I was trying to right something that had been set in motion years ago -- trying to "carry another's hopeless load" ........ The take away lesson?
Choices / Consequences:
If You don't do your work,
your work does You.
