I wanted to begin our time together today and share something with you that won’t come as a shock: no one woke up this morning and said to him or herself, “gosh I want to go live in a nursing home!”

So right off the bat, let’s get this out in the open, deal with it, and then move forward for what’s best for a loved one. It may be you’ve gone as far as to have promised your mother, father, grandparent or spouse that you would never place her or him in a nursing home or even an assisted living facility. You made the promise with the best of intentions however now things have changed and your loved one’s condition is such that caregiving outside the home’s called for.

And now you’re feeling guilty. It’s perfectly understandable and a feeling you shouldn’t hide from. In fact, it’s a situation I see over and over, and one that nursing home staffs work with new admitting families to cope with. Here folks who’ve made the difficult decision to place a treasured family member into a nursing home are gently told that they did so out of love. Your goal is to ease your loved one’s burden and to make sure they live out their live in the best way possible. After all, your special person deserves this!

You didn’t entertain nursing or assisted living care because the person in-question wasn’t wanted; you made the choice to help your loved one live in peace. This is where professional caregivers go to work and do their reasonable best to perform the little and big things that enable a person to have the best quality of life possible.

I’ve heard nursing and assisted living staff asked the question from time to time: “isn’t your job depressing since you’re working with elderly folks who for the most part aren’t as full of vim and vigor in their lives?” I’ve seen staff smile and explain how they believe they have the best job in the world because of the impact they make on peoples’ lives.

Staff gets to help residents enjoy life! They go into the caregiving profession, because they have a natural desire to help people. As a result, they don’t look at residents and feel sad; rather they view these great people with a desire to make their lives a little brighter.

That’s the way you should view a decision about placing a loved one into a nursing home or assisted living facility. You’ve made the choice so that your special someone can have a sunny tomorrow.