11/07/2025
Some days in elder care are hard.
You try your best to hold things together, but the disappointments pile up — caregivers who call off, clients who are let down, and the constant feeling that you’re fighting a losing battle.
Then a day like today happens… and it reminds you exactly why you keep doing this.
A caregiver called off last minute. I started making calls, one after another, hoping someone could help. Feeling hopeless, I reached that one caregiver — the kind you don’t have to beg. In the background, I heard them say to their family, “I’m going to work. I don’t know when I’ll be back. No, I wasn’t scheduled, but the owner’s on the phone and a client is in need. I love you too — I’ll see you later.”
Then came the sound of the car door shutting, the engine starting, and my heart softening. I called the client to say someone was on the way. You could hear the relief in their voice — and I felt it too.
When I hung up, I just sat there for a moment — overwhelmed.
Not because my evening was interrupted or because someone failed me again, but because someone showed up.
Because I heard in that caregiver’s voice the same spirit I used to have — the one that didn’t flinch when someone was in need.
Because I know what it means to say “yes” when you don’t have to. I know the sacrifice, the missed dinners, the tired body, and the quiet pride that comes after.
I am so incredibly grateful for the caregivers who still choose compassion when it’s inconvenient, who step up when others step back. There are days I sit in silence and just cry out of gratitude — because I see them, I feel them, and I remember being them.
I pray that one day — soon — this industry changes enough that those who give so freely of themselves are finally paid even a fraction of what they’re worth.
“They may never know what you give up, but they will always feel what you give.” - Daniel Hawkes
