Good morning everyone and welcome to another Monday in the Care Community.
As always, a warm welcome to those who have joined us during the past week. I hope you’ll find us to be helpful, whether you have specific questions to post about, or prefer to read quietly in the background. But we do love to read your posts, so don’t be shy if you have something to say.
Lots of people suddenly find themselves in a situation where caring for someone is needed, as one post over the weekend highlighted. And we are here to help anyone we can with the many and complex issues of Caring.
In the past week there was a useful link from long-standing Carer JeffAjaxSmith, giving advice from government to professional carers during the current coronavirus crisis, and another from JennyMary with regard to benefits and coronavirus.
These are difficult and uncharted times and it would be silly to ignore all that’s happening with regard to the current situation. I think it is inevitably going to figure a lot in the community in weeks, and maybe even months to come. Many of us are going to find ourselves isolated at home for what could be a long period.
It’s very harsh, but those of us who are over 70 or who are looking after someone else vulnerable through age or health issues, ought to consider the advice seriously. It isn’t pleasant but could well keep many more people much safer. It will throw up challenges for many of us, including myself, but other countries are managing to do it and we will probably have to do this soon.
I don’t suppose any of us are filled with a sense of any kind of joy at the moment. There’s very little to cling to that's cheery, with future plans having to be put on hold.I guess we are going to have to look for the small things that might help us forget our fears and any boredom we may feel.
I have my crafting hobbies, like my card making and my doll’s house but I also love YouTube, where I can instantly travel to most corners of the world, join in with mudlarking expeditions on the Thames, looking for treasures of old, or get new decorating and crafting ideas. I even enjoy just watching the world go by outside and envying the birds, who are still as free as air to do what what they want to do. One bright spot for me is the lack of football matches on TV. (sorry fans)! Soccer is one thing I cannot stand because of the crowd noise, so that’s a small bright point. And I have heaps of books I haven’t yet had time to dip into.
Anyway, all questions and worries about coronavirus welcome, but we must always remember the everyday Caring problems too.
I was so lucky last week that I managed my early mother’s day treat of an overnight spa trip with my daughter and granddaughter. Gosh, it was so tiring being so pampered. We had hydrotherapy, massage, flotation therapy, a skin care workshop, as well as several lovely meals there, and a delightful sleep on the hot beds in the tepidarium (until I threatened to launch into a noisy snore!) There was a choice of pools in which to dip including an oxygenated one which was really lovely. Had we waited the extra time till mother’s day we might have been denied the chance to go.
I think that, were I ever likely to be Prime Minister, I’d put spa days on prescription for Carers. It’s lovely to be cloistered away from all your everyday worries and, say, four times a year would go a long way towards restoring body and spirit for busy people. It would probably save the NHS millions in prescriptions.
It’s pointless to wish everyone a wonderful week. These are unusual times. So I’ll just say please stay as safe as you can, and try to remain as cheerful as possible too. And try not to worry too much, as that achieves very little and can be exhausting.
All the best everyone.
Monday Round up