Start where you are

Last week I was going for a job interview, to help a man with his wife with late stage dementia. I thought I was going for me. I met an 85 year old man with cancer, caring for his wife of over 60 years. His wife was in the further stage of dementia, and her care is done by others. This man was looking for assistance to help with her, or so I thought. He does all of her care. Toiletings, shower, feeding, preparing the meals, shopping, etc. He does ALL of this himself. Not because he has an issue with being the boss. It was out of love and respect and the knowledge that he had of his wife. Would it have been so much easier, to let others help with her care. The simple answer is yes. But, you see, he was doing it because of his profound, unconditional love he had for his wife. As I was mesmerized by this demonstration of love, pure love, I could not disregard his extreme calm and demeanor. Twice, on the blank face of his wife, a twinkle appeared in her eyes and a smile so slowly lit up her face, transforming her for a moment into the woman that he knew her to be. See, he knew that woman was still in there. And those moments, I could see were the reason for his love for her. I am sure there are many other reasons as well. Unconditional love, is something we hear about often. But like words can be thrown around, we don’t often get the opportunity to bear witness to it’s beauty. If eyes are open, and your heart is still, you just may see yourself……….keep your eyes open.