Gary Barg, Editor-in-Chief
Gramp was an extraordinarily brave and hard-working man. In 1925, he jumped ship in Baltimore Harbor off a Russian freighter to which he was consigned at the age of 17. Later, he made his way to New Jersey where he started a contracting company and raised a family. At the age of 35, when World War II broke out, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.
Gramp was a craftsman and he firmly believed in using the right tool for the right job. His old wooden tool kit was a world of wonder for his grandchildren. He never tired of explaining to us how each of the various tools worked and how each was best utilized.
I was reminded of Gramps toolkit this Tuesday at the 21st annual Fort Lauderdale Fearless Caregiver Conference for a few reasons.
First, was that we were blessed to be joined by a handful of our 2019 Today’s Caregiver Friendly Award winners and I was pleased to present them their awards during lunch. What these folks and every other award nominee and winner have in common is that they spend their days striving to create better and more efficient tools for family caregivers.
Whether is it a comforting doll or animatronic pet to help calm our loved ones living with cognitive challenges or an amazing new supportive caregiving book or even a documentary connecting us to the lives of a family as they battle the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease. These are all tools that are happily at our disposal as caregivers in 2019.
One other thing brought Gramps toolkit to mind, was a phrase (that I’ve never heard before) shared by our friend Kim Miller of SeniorBridge as she served as an expert Q and A panelist. Her words were (paraphrasing) “as caregivers we all need to take the time for ourselves to make sure we keep our machete’s sharp.”
Amen to that!
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.