Please, Julie, take care of yourself.

Taking care of one’s self. That’s essential. Especially for care-givers. My friend Julie. She doesn’t always take the best care of herself. Because she puts others first and foremost. Including her dementia-riddled father. He’s in a nursing home. Julie castigated herself the other day. For taking a nap. Yes, fell asleep. For two hours. And felt guilty about it. Says she should have been tending to her father instead. No. No. No, I tell Julie. You should be tending to yourself.  If you become overly tired. Exhausted. That ain’t good. Makes you a less-effective care-giver. For others. Maybe even incompetent. You may even do your dad more harm than good. By showing up beleaguered and bedraggled. If you want to be at your best for others – well, then take care of yourself. Too many care-givers don’t do that. They end up needing more care than their patients.  Some literally work themselves to death. Yes, they become the first to die. Makes no sense. If Julie dies or becomes incapacitated before her aged father. That’ll be a sad and unnecessary tragedy.  Julie would have been better off. By taking proper care of herself. First and foremost. Then everyone would have benefited. Including Julie. And her beloved father. Julie. Julie, I plead. Please. Please. Take care of yourself.  –Jim Broede