Miriam Morrison Director of Volunteer Services
Growing up in rural Michigan amidst a patchwork of farms as a PK (preacher’s kid) and visiting my grandpa’s farm near Fostoria, Ohio, in Wood County, I saw the entire cycle of life through spring planting to harvest. I watched corn grow from seeds to rich green foliage and then to maturity with dry, golden brown stalks with the ears of corn ready for harvesting. Grandpa felt gratification for a good harvest, because it meant food for many people. He always felt especially grateful when he heard that some of his grain
ended up feeding hungry people around the world.
Like my grandpa, you plant seeds, too. Your seeds are those of love, care, comfort, compassion, companionship, and peace, not only for the patient but also caregivers.
Caregivers with a loved one in hospice care need support. Sometimes caregivers live at a distance and driving back and forth from their homes to the loved one can take a toll. They hold down full-time jobs and have family responsibilities.
As many of you know, my father was in hospice care in Columbus, Ohio, before his death September 21. For seven months, I became a caregiver of my father and mother almost every weekend, often Thurs. night through Sunday night, driving to the office on Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. This gave my sister some much-needed respite. When we couldn’t be there, we had volunteers sit with my father in the skilled care facility where he lived for the last three months. This made such a difference in his life and ours. My father
and our family reaped a full harvest.
From the soothing words of author Ken Nerburn,
Care for those around you.
Look past your differences.
These choices are no less than yours,
Their choices no more easily made.
And give, give in any way you can,
Of whatever you possess.
To give is to you.
To withhold is to wither.
Care less for your harvest
Than for how it is shared,
And your life will have meaning
And your heart will have peace.
Thank you for sharing your harvest and for giving patients like my father love, comfort, care, companionship, compassion, and peace. What a difference it makes to caregivers like me!