Thanking the Whole Person (and a medical SLP freebie)

Whenever I wipe poop off a bottom (or a toilet, or a wall), I make a mental note to say something extra positive to our nurses and sanitation staff.  Sometimes it takes a big mess to draw my attention to the ones who do the most thankless tasks.

Well, we’re in a big mess right now, and our attention is drawn.  




From Google Doodles to the Blue Angel Salute to everyday media coverage, we are currently inundated with reminders to appreciate front line medical workers and first responders, grocery store workers, postal workers, teachers, and so many others who form the (often invisible) backbone of our infrastructure.  And we absolutely should thank them!  They do so much for us, and they are being extra-specially brave and sacrificial right now.  It’s great to see so much public appreciation for essential workers.

 Saint Pope John Paul II often emphasized that we must recognize the humanity in others, the whole person--not just what they have to offer us.  So let’s go beyond clapping our hands for essential workers.  Let’s try to also reach out--person to person. 



Here are some ideas for ways to show kindness to the whole person:

~If you know someone who is on the front lines right now, ask how you can help them.
~If you know someone who has lost their job right now, ask how you can help them.
~Write a big thank-you note for your garbage truck workers, and try to keep your bags neatly tied so their job is a bit easier.
~Drop off a meal for a friend who does essential work AND/OR a friend whose employment is unstable right now.
~If you have any, donate medical masks to a local hospital (and switch to using homemade masks or bandanas so the hospital staff have enough disposable ones to go around!).
~Support policies that encourage employers to give their essential employees more than just minimum wage (especially sanitation staff!).
~Ask your grocery store clerk how their day is going, and really listen (from a safe/respectful distance of course, to reduce their exposure to potential harm).
~Say extra prayers for everyone involved in the production of your food:  from the farm workers to the packing plant workers to the deliverers to the grocery store workers and everyone else who was involved in preparing your food
~If you have the luxury of working from home, do! so you can prevent the spread to those who can’t stay home.
~Be more patient with those who serve you (such as over-the-phone tech support, or even your family members)
~Send an appreciation email to your child’s teachers, therapists, and special educators--I know it’s been a challenge to transition to tele-therapy and online teaching!

The essential workers of our society have always been here, and they’ll continue to support us even when this season has passed.  So let’s keep showing kindness and appreciation for the ones who often go unnoticed and unthanked.  Let’s not forget that they are whole people, just like us, and that their value is even more than the essential and heroic work that they do.

*****

For my fellow medical SLPs, I have added another handout to the Speech Therapy tab:  The Housekeeping Game.  It’s a worksheet for patients with goals for complex problem solving and home management.  The first page is in English and the second page is the same activity in Spanish.  Hope this helps!

(PS, we recently started using a similar method to organize our chores. So far it has made things manageable and fun and a little silly.)