Forget the awards shows with the people in fancy gowns and tuxedos and jewelry that's worth more than most of us will make in a lifetime. True glamor lies in the details of a caregivers' activities. So far my list is up to 74 items I do on a weekly basis and some of which I do on a daily basis. That does not include the 32 steps involved in cleaning poop off of mom. Thankfully, we have help. I put together a fund raiser to raise money for attendant care for mom. I'm on my second one and to my surprise people are donating what they are able some for a second time. So with the first set of funds we raised I was able to pay nursing students from a local college to come in and help a few days a week. I literally take my chore list, go through and highlight the stuff I want them to do. Glamor is in the eye of the beholder. For me I see Glamor in a clean kitchen, a load of laundry put away or trash taken out. Mostly I see glamor in my mom when she's free of feces and free of paperclips and pills in her crotch and back to her demanding lovable self. I don't have fancy cars (heck I'm selling a 1998 Toyota to pay for mom's eventual cremation or as I like to call it her torching). I don't wear my fancy clothes anymore (there are days I'm lucky if I get out of my night clothes before 1 in the afternoon because I've gotten busy doing caregiving). I don't have a mansion but at least both the house and car are paid for and held in trust so I don't have to pay capital gains taxes. So, what constitutes a glamorous night for you? Is it being able to take a shower uninterrupted? Is it finally getting the laundry put away? Glamor is in the eye of the beholder. For caregivers I think glamor is having survived another day without going completely insane.
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