Honoring and remembering those who have served
CARE means reflecting on the past and planning for the future
On this Memorial Day 2024, Keeping It REAL Caregiving would like to say thank you and offer up prayers to all those who have served and died for our country.
I grew up in a military family and am thankful and proud of the many sacrifices my relatives have made over the years.
My father served in the United States Air Force and served during the Vietnam War.
My brother served in the United States Army, taking part in several major overseas conflicts, including Bosnia and Somalia.
I have two nephews who have served in the United States Navy and Coast Guard, respectively.
Take this day to remember and honor those who are no longer with us.
Related article:
Remembering my dad this Father's Day
As caregivers, we can all learn a great deal from the level of dedication, focus, and fortitude that comes with serving in the military. I can’t help but wonder what my father would have been like as a man in his 70’s or 80’s. I did not get to find out. He was only 53 when he passed away. That is a sobering thought considering I have now outlived the short window my father had to soak up this thing we call life.
I can recall moments of my childhood and hearing my father talk about his colleagues. Some of my takeaways from those nuggets of adult conversation, was there is a benefit and satisfaction that comes from working as a team to get results.
To this day I believe that using our skills and knowledge to help others just makes sense. It means forming partnerships with those working towards a common goal and a common good. When it comes to CARE and caregiving, that means continually looking for opportunities to ‘connect the dots.’
So with that, Keeping It REAL Caregiving is proud to take this opportunity to share that our small, but growing organization is taking steps to continue building bridges.
I’m excited to announce the creation of our non-profit arm, Caring Across Communities! My goal is to link various concepts of CARE that can provide resources and information across disciplines.
And, I’m even more pumped to share that Caring Across Communities has been selected as a community-based organization partner with the Power Saver Rewards program here in California!
Many other states and power companies offer similar programs - check with your local provider to learn more.
I am super excited to share our first such program of teamwork. This one, is focused on taking CARE with our energy usage and our pocket books! I’ll share more of these exciting details tomorrow, so look for that.
As family caregivers, I believe it is our duty to plan ahead, and think about all the various ways we can honor our loved ones, past and present. Being smart about the small steps we can take that can have a big impact is just one way.
Until next time~
Julia
