Top Ten Ways that Caregiving is Like Downhill Skiing

Let’s just get right to it; here are the top ten ways that caregiving and downhill skiing are similar:

1. There are many variables that can affect your journey; anything can happen at any time
2. Planning ahead and thinking through the various possibilities definitely helps you to prepare better so that you will be more comfortable and better able to take care of yourself
3. Self-care and setting boundaries is critical
4. Taking courses from professionals and learning how to improve your skills is very helpful and contributes to your management of the entire process
5. Having the right gear and equipment is also a huge contributor to how well you can handle the entire process
6. Hanging out with more experienced people gives you the inside track on what to do and helps you stay ahead in the game
7. Sometimes it’s scary as hell, and you can’t figure out how you’re ever going to make it through (… the day … the week … the year …) in one piece
8. Sometimes sheer mental toughness and force of will is required; it’s a very alone feeling
9. When the going gets tough, it’s best to take a break, even if only for a short time
10. On a really nasty, wet, snowy day, sometimes it’s best to just stay inside by the fireplace and chill out

As with skiing and its variable weather and snow conditions (not to mention your own physical condition), you never know what will happen with caregiving. From the very start, when you begin to plan, the landscape is full of unknowns, which can make it very difficult to have realistic conversations with your loved ones.

Of course the unknowns increase when you are actually in the throes of caregiving – the sudden slippery ice patch, or the crazy brute who, because he is going too fast, knocks you down, taking your breath away.

Then there is the “relaunch” – every ski season is a clean slate, a new beginning; every fall a chance to get up and try again – yet with the benefit of all that you have learned thus far. A time when you can decide how YOU want your next steps to be.