The Art of Caring: Navigating Life's Rocky Moments Together
It was a tough week in our house and pleased to report we made it to the other side and we are enjoying an uneventful weekend. Phew!
The Benefit of Experience
Last Friday Night/Saturday Morning at 3am... I awoke to my husband moving around the bedroom. I asked...as I usually do... "Are YOU ok?". This time the answer was "NO...pretty sure I have a Kidney Stone". He would know because we have navigated through Kidney Stones several times over the years.
He had already been uncomfortable for an hour or so and claimed he didn't need to go to the Emergency Room... maybe it would pass. Experience has taught us otherwise and waiting has never made things better...only worse. Better to go now... while he could walk to the car and into the waiting room by himself... while we had time to wait to be seen before things escalated even further... before the nausea took over.
Turned out... we made all the right decisions and by the time he was starting the truly unbearable pain he was already in a room in the ER being tended to. It was the LAST thing I wanted to do in the middle of the night...
...but I'm NOT complaining!
Combat Mode
Not sure if you have ever had... or know somebody who has had a Kidney Stone... but people say it feels equivalent to child birth.
For the most part... it is about making the patient as comfortable as possible until it passes and that unfortunately can take days.
So... thanks to experience... we labeled all his medications... set alarms... and created a check list to keep track of all his medications. We bought in lots of water... a variety of juices and some soda water to replace any other liquids in the fridge.
Last... but not least... I moved into combat mode. Experience has taught me... this is the moment where everything has to stay on track with military precision or we end up right back in the Emergency Room. No time to be collaborative or take things for granted. Stay vigilant... be prepared... sleep when you can... try to stay one step ahead of what needs to be done. Mentally prepare... it's going to be a long few days!
It is also important to remember... combat mode doesn't mean you lack kindness...empathy or compassion. For me it means... stepping up and taking control of the situation because someone else needs that from you. It also means showing extra love... patience and reassuring the troops "If you listen to me... I'm going to get you out of this alive"
...but I'm NOT complaining!
Caring For Others is A Gift
My Husband navigated the week like a champ and luckily this round with the Stone was probably his easiest. It was smaller than others and seemed to have passed by Wednesday night.
On top of the "round the clock" care... work was busy... the dog needed attention (shout out to my daughter for helping out in key moments)... it was Easter so we tried to mark the occasion to lift our spirits... and the usual day to day stuff needed to carry on.
Experience has taught me that these moments... while tough mentally and physically... is nothing to complain about. It is the GIFT of having other people in your life who love and care about YOU. I often say...
"Someday my house will be clean and I will be alone"
In Closing...
I mentioned... as a small part of my week... that work was busy. To be honest... it's crunch time... it's GO time! Almost every person I spoke with last week admitted they were struggling in some way. They have work stress and/or personal challenges... just like I do.
So just like my clean house I say...
"Someday I won't have work stress and I will look back on this as the Good Old Days"
I won't remember the exact specifics about the work... but I will remember the people and how it felt to care for each other during the tougher days and them for me.
I believe we should be vulnerable and share our journey so others know they are not alone. To maybe make each other lighter so we have the courage to carry on in Combat Mode a little while longer. I know how lucky I am as a leader... a colleague... a wife... a mother... a friend to care for others and for them to care for me.
Life comes at you fast and usually when YOU don't have time to take on more. While things can get chaotic and you may wish things would just get back to "normal" try to remind yourself... I'm not complaining!
Leadership (and friendship) is the gift given by those who follow (love you).
Leadership Questions of the Week for YOU:
Did YOU have a tough week recently? How did experience help YOU navigate it better?
Can YOU related to Combat Mode? Do YOU have another way to describe it?
How important is it to remind YOURSELF to not complain... to embrace the experience yet be vulnerable enough to share YOUR story to give courage to others that need it too?
In what ways do YOU think this applies to our Leadership Journey as well as our Personal one?
What advice would YOU give to others?
Thanks for reading and remember...YOU make a difference!
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