An excellent topic, Janice. I appreciated this: " I plan to remind myself regularly that everyone makes mistakes and that I choose what to focus on." I also find it helpful to remind myself of all the REALLY GOOD care I gave, the love and effort I gave, the good things I did, which far outweigh the mistakes I made or my weaknesses. It helps me find perspective.
Hindsight constantly reminds us of what we could've done better. However, that's because we've actually gone through a situation for the first time and are now better informed. When our loved ones experience dementia it's hard to know what to do in the moment, because we've never dealt with those circumstances before (and they're hugely emotional.)
We must give ourselves grace, realize we're human, and that we did the best we could with what we had (physically, mentally, emotionally) at that moment. And some of those moments were quite hard.
When a subscriber asked me to write about what-ifs and regrets, I couldn’t resist.
An excellent topic, Janice. I appreciated this: " I plan to remind myself regularly that everyone makes mistakes and that I choose what to focus on." I also find it helpful to remind myself of all the REALLY GOOD care I gave, the love and effort I gave, the good things I did, which far outweigh the mistakes I made or my weaknesses. It helps me find perspective.
Sharron, I really like that - the really good I do which far outweighs the mistakes or weaknesses.
Hindsight constantly reminds us of what we could've done better. However, that's because we've actually gone through a situation for the first time and are now better informed. When our loved ones experience dementia it's hard to know what to do in the moment, because we've never dealt with those circumstances before (and they're hugely emotional.)
We must give ourselves grace, realize we're human, and that we did the best we could with what we had (physically, mentally, emotionally) at that moment. And some of those moments were quite hard.
Hi, Beautifully stated. We do have to give ourselves and grace and learn.