A Bowl of Soup and A Kind Word

What do you say to a caregiver?

How do you help a caregiver? I was talking to this billing agent at the doctor's office and said, how are you feeling? And she said, oh great It's Friday. And before I could catch myself, I said Friday means nothing to me. Every day is Monday. And I felt kind of ashamed of that and I'm sorry for that, but I realized that whole principle of every day is Monday. What that means for us as caregivers, we know that this is going to be a challenging day. And I wrote these one-minute chapters.

You literally could read them in one minute. And I'm really proud of this book. It's called A Minute for Caregivers, when every day feels like Monday. It's filled with bedrock principles that we as caregivers can lean on, that we can depend upon to get us to safety, where we can catch our breath, take a knee if we have to, and reorient our thinking and the weight that we carry on our shoulders. If you don't know what to say to a caregiver, don't worry about it. I do.

Give them this book. This is Peter Roseburger. This is A Minute for Caregivers. During a challenging hospital stay for Gracie, friends called and asked me to stop by their home, which was just around the corner from my home. After doing laundry, I swung by their house while returning to the hospital. Smiling at my puzzled look, they directed me to the kitchen table where a single place setting awaited.

Your in-laws are caring for your boys, and the hospital staff is caring for Gracie. Sit, eat, and let us care for you. They promptly served me a steaming bowl of vegetable beef soup, a massive slice of cornbread, and a large glass of tea. As a child of the South, you couldn't have picked a better meal for me.

I tried to make conversation, but couldn't find the words. Just eat and rest, they repeated several times. After finishing the meal, I had two bowls of soup. I got up to head back to the hospital and two pieces of cornbread, and they both hugged me. You have a lot to do, but now do it on a full stomach knowing that you're loved.

Many expressed difficulties in knowing how to help a caregiver, but most caregivers agreed that it's not that complicated. Sometimes it's just a bowl of soup and a kind word, and I love this from 1 Kings 19.7. The angel of God came back and shook him. It was Elijah.

The angel came back and shook him awake again and said, get up and eat some more. You've got a long journey ahead of you. This is Peter Rosenberger, and this is an excerpt from my book, A Minute for Caregivers, when every day feels like Monday. Available wherever books are sold. There's more at HopeForTheCaregiver.com