No Such Thing as Burnout

Part of my fantastic long weekend vacation has been visiting with cousins in different parts of Massachusetts. One of those cousins is my cousin Wendy. Twelve years ago, she and her husband had twin baby girls. Parenthood has blessed them in many ways, but perhaps tested them in more ways than most parents. Both of the girls were born with developmental delays.  I can see from spending even just a few hours with them, that Wendy's life as a mom is way different than mine has been. Her girls are beautiful and loving, but need a lot of care to do things I no longer have to do for my son. In fact, I haven't had to do most of it in years. Both the girls are nonverbal and need assistance do basic things like eating. This year both the girls starting walking and it has been very exciting for the family!

Before Wendy arrived with her daughters and one of their caregivers, my Aunt and Uncle told us a lot about the amazing people who work with Abbey and Lilly. They seemed touched by how giving and caring the people are who help with the girls, assistants and teachers, therapists and tutors. All of them. And they talked about burnout rate, and of course that led them to ask me about my profession and where I work. I'm not going to rehash our entire conversation, as it would only bore you. But it got me thinking...

Professionals run the risk of burnout. They can get tired, decide to move on, go do something else. Parents don't have that luxury. I thought about how exhausting my cousin's days must be. I thought about the bitching and moaning of my friends (and occasionally me) over how tired they are from taking their kids here and there, and helping with homework, and blah blah blah. My cousin has two girls who lack any kind of real independence and probably won't ever be able to be on their own. She knows a tired I will likely never feel in all my life. And she's beautiful, and loving, and sweet, and kind. For her, there is no such thing as burnout. It's not even an option. It's not her job, it's her children.