I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how blessed we are. If we have to be in this situation, dealing with this disease, we couldn’t ask for a better facility or team of caregivers – there are no words to describe what special people they are. They’ve truly become family. While there may be a few places that consistently offer care as good, I’m convinced there isn’t a single place that provides better.

The past week has been less than ideal; let’s just say Mom’s moods are changing quicker than the Presidential candidates’ campaign promises. She can be hugging and kissing the girls one minute, and five minutes later, for no apparent reason, she’ll haul off and backhand them. And, alas, do not be fooled by her frail appearance – mama is as strong as an ox, and she can hit hard!

Ups and downs, the caregivers at Eason House take it all in stride, they don’t complain, and they love their charges unconditionally. In fact, I’m pretty sure that when the phrase “unconditional love” was conceived, it was to describe people just like them. Let’s face it, these girls see it all – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Here’s something to ponder next time you’re having a bad day at work. Suppose your typical day involved: having food thrown at you, being hit, kicked, pinched, bitten, and/or cussed at, cleaning up every imaginable bodily “fluid,” including ones you never knew existed… plus cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner, giving showers, doing the laundry, keeping the house clean, entertaining your clients, feeding people (literally), dealing with family members, providing reports and updates to doctors, watering the flowers, answering the same questions multiple times per hour (…what day is it? …when are we leaving? … what time is dinner? -to name a just a few), and a myriad of other “duties as assigned.”

Can you imagine juggling all of that? For the caretakers at Eason House, it’s literally all in a day’s work. And somehow, through it all, they manage to smile, and most importantly, they manage to love.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple of other things. Most of these girls work 12-hour shifts. Come on, 8-hour days are for sissies! We’re talking 12-hours back to back to back, etc. And they certainly don’t do it for the riches. I have to admit, sometimes I wonder why they DO do it. Then I’m reminded that they do it because they’re angels on earth. They do it because of the love in their hearts.

I never knew it was possible for a person (who isn’t even a family member) to love someone the way these girls love my mom. Despite all the sh*t (literally), the mood swings, and the obstinate behavior, they give true, unconditional, unparalleled, no holds barred… l-o-v-e. Every.single.day.

So, all of that said, when I read this piece that describes the kind of care we all want for our loved ones, it rang so true…

Sometimes, it’s impossible to find adequate words to describe a situation or feeling. That is certainly the case when I think about how thankful I am for Eason House and our awe-inspiring caregivers.