“Good fences make good neighbours.” said the poet. Maybe his neighbour said it, too.
I have no fence on my front yard, and my neighbour and I share the space. I walk across her side to get to the road. She walks across mine to get to the park. We both make it work, and it’s not a big deal. Why? Because we spend very little time in the front yard. We use it to come and go, but seldom sit out there.
The back yard–now that’s another story. In the back yard, we barbecue, and they have parties and we sit and watch the stars. The back yard has a solid, six-foot fence, Good fences make good neighbours.
Care partners need to learn about boundaries.
I’ve never been good at boundaries. Boundaries can mean confrontation, and I hate confrontation. But in a care partner relationship, boundaries can mean the difference between being able to continue at this demanding task, or falling apart. There are times when it’s appropriate to say “no” or to ask someone to help or to look for other ways of doing something. The subject of boundaries is closely related to care partner stress. The care partner who hasn’t learned when it is appropriate to establish a boundary is a stressed care partner. You can’t do it all.
But there are no rules. That would make it so much easier.
Unlike fences, boundaries can move. They aren’t the same for everyone, or every day. Care partners know that the situation changes–sometimes daily. Some days are better than others, and your loved one can do more. Boundaries have to be flexible.
But you must have them.
Vicki Racker, MD, in an article called Setting Limits as a Caregiver, says, “most caregivers are more effective and open-hearted when they know where their boundaries are, and they protect them. With boundaries, we can find personal renewal while caregiving, and find the strength to cope when life gets chaotic.”
http://www.strengthforcaring.com/manual/stress-relief-stress-management-tips/setting-limits-as-a-caregiver/
In other words, if I build a good, strong fence, I can function well within my own yard.
How do you know when to set a boundary? What might it look like? How do I know if it needs to change? How do I deal with the guilt I feel?
CLICK TO TWEET
‘You can do anything, but not everything.”Unknownhttp://ctt.ec/DC8fp
These are all topics I will explore in the coming weeks, but for today, I will end with this story, which illustrates that there are no absolutes.
When I was caring for my husband, it got intense at the end. He was in hospital, sometimes for weeks at a time, and I had to keep working. We needed my income. During his last hospital stay, he was moved to the city. I worked all day, then went to the hospital. I picked up something to eat and took it to his room, where we shared the next few hours. When it was time to leave, I would take transit for an hour to get home, home and begin it all again the next day. Up at 5:00 am, commute to work, work all day, to the hospital, visit and home. Obviously, I couldn’t keep that up forever.
During that time, I had the strong sense that I needed to be at the hospital every night. He was alone all day, and those few hours were his oasis. Even when the kids came to visit, I still wanted to be there. I was exhausted. Wisdom would say I needed to set a boundary. My heart said I needed to keep going. What I didn’t know was that we were experiencing the last few weeks of his life. Those moments together were precious and important, and I’m glad I did it.
Set boundaries, but listen to your heart.