Some days while caring for my mother I feel lost. Maybe disoriented is a better word. There’s no predicting how she will be from one day to the next. I fear I’m letting my business colleagues down by spending too much time away from work. And then there’s my husband and 14-year-old son at home, probably eating pasta and no vegetables again for the fourth or seventh time this week.
Walks help. But music helps more. Some days the music allows me to wallow in my lostness while driving alone. The brooding is so indulgent and I couldn’t do it without the music. Other days my “cancer caregiver” soundtrack makes me feel strong and courageous and oh so positive. Bring it on, I can handle it.
Social workers advise caregivers to make sure they take care of themselves. Here’s the soundtrack that’s caring for me:
- Mercy Angel by Brian Blade
- And So It Goes by Bill Joel
- Don’t Give Up by Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel
- Trouble by Cat Stevens
- Tenderly by Duke Ellington
- Stay by Jackson Browne
- Beauty Mark by Rufus Wainwright
- The Way by Neil Young
- Wholy Holy by Marvin Gaye
- I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
- The Surest Things Can Change by Gino Vannelli
- Reach Out and I’ll Be There by The Four Tops
- Friends by Elton John
- A Song for You by Donny Hathaway
- We Can’t Be Someone Else by Arling & Cameron
- Angel by Aretha Franklin
- You Get What You Give by New Radicals