Care for vs. care about
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Question for you? How do your holiday traditions align with what you value most? Speaking from my long time and current role as the primary caregiver for my bedridden 93yr old, the responsibilities remain the same during the holidays.
The priorities of assisting with bathing/clothing, meals, managing meds and home health appointments...how about I spare you with further details? YW... There is a need to be intentional considering your tertiary (daily) needs and values; emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. A high impact tool to ignite thought before action, as the activities of the holiday season can uptick sharply or threaten to, is to ask "Care about this?" vs "Care for this?"
"Care about" is to be concerned where "care for" requires action, more hands on attention.
Ex. I am not a pet person, please don't shut me out just yet...going somewhere.... I appreciate the deep and vested relationships pet owners have for their beloved. My friends Khym and Don inherited their pet Peaches from their son who moved out of state. They took on the responsibilities fully, each time I visited her bowl was filled with fresh food, another with water, her pillow bed clean. Don took her out regularly. Peaches was well cared about and cared for. Some visits later I noticed Peaches limping with labored breathing, and had a deep and dry cough. I asked what was going on and their response was that she was getting old. In even later visits her condition worsened and my care about alert kicked in. Peaches wasn't my dog, but my concern was for her quality of life, which we could all tell was not good. Finally, I spoke up and asked if they thought she may be declining, I'm not a pet person as mentioned, but I still don't want to see any living being suffer. Compassion is a value and I cared about Peaches. It turns out Don was waiting on Khym and she was waiting on him. They both were honed into what they loved about the holiday season, hosting with all of the decor, food prep, and entertaining. Good friends, they were grateful I directed their attention to Peaches.
The point to ponder is to consider using the tools; care about (concern and interest) and care for (action needed) as you move through the busyness of the season. Thinking on these phrases can help determine what's of interest vs a need to react with hands on purpose.
