Feeling Cared For

I played sports for the majority of my life, and subsequently, I've been injured multiple times. Hence, I've had many examples of feeling cared for during these times.But, I think you can care for people on a day to day basic with simple gestures as well.

Perhaps the first "cared for" moment that comes to mind was in my final year of university. In my last game of university football I'd ever end up playing, I had the misfortune of tearing my ACL in my right knee for the second time in my career. It was pretty devastating for me, major surgery, another 6 month recovery and worse yet, I knew my career was over. I think my family understood the toll it took on me. As I prepared for the surgery a couple months down the road, my father began suggesting he might come out and help me through the days following the surgery. I didn't think he was serious, as I'd been through the process before, but little did I know the lengths he would go to make me feel cared for!
I lived in a house with 7, yes SEVEN, other football players throughout my college career. Suffice to say, it was a mess! My father came and stayed with our house for a few days following my surgery and treated me and my housemates like kings. He cleaned the house, cooked meals, and helped me through this difficult time. It was just like my dad to do this, never thinking about himself, always helping others and making sure myself (and all my housemates) were comfortable and well fed.
I just remember being so thankful and not even being able to put it into words. He didn't have to do this, I lived a four hour flight away (which wasn't cheap), he didn't have a proper bed to sleep in (we had a couch), but he didn't care, he wanted to be there for me and help me through this difficult time.

This was definitely a situation where I felt cared for, but I think being injured or sick is a situation that perpetuates care. I think a different angle or care builds on our discussion of self care around the things we do every day to care for ourselves. I think there's something to be said for the things we do for others every day to care for them. This can happen at work where people can care through hearing opinions and taking the extra time to help explain something. This can happen in your personal life where simple gestures like buying flowers or candy when your friend is down, or doing a chore at home because you know your partner hates it or simply giving someone a smile or hug because you know they need it. These are the unprompted gestures that make me feel cared for every day by the people around me and the gestures I try and do every day to make others feel cared for.

While I believe they are two different things, I don't think one is any greater than the other, but I think understanding the distinction is important and something we need to realize in our day to day lives.