My daughter works for the Oregon Lottery. Last week a lackluster man came in to collect on a winning ticket. He said, “I won a little money.” Annie checked the ticket and exclaimed, “You didn’t win a LITTLE money. You won TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!” The man shrugged.
Turns out he’d had a vision of winning the Mega Bucks jackpot while standing in line at a taco truck waiting for his food, so he bought a ticket. He was so confident that he’d win the big jackpot that he couldn’t get enthused about winning just $26,000. I suspect Annie felt like slapping him. She said, “Twenty-six thousand dollars would change my life!”
Her story made me think about caregivers and care receivers. It’s human nature to hope for complete and quick recoveries, but that doesn’t always happen. If you’re feeling a little grumpy today, maybe you’d benefit from thinking about a few things for which you can be grateful. If your care receivers are smart they’ll realize they won the jackpot when you agreed to love them and care for them and stay by their sides throughout this incredibly difficult journey. If they have forgotten how much you do and how lucky they are to have your support, you may want to remind them that a little gratitude can go a very long way.
