SELF REFLECTION | PERSONAL GROWTH | MENTAL HEALTH
Who is someone I admire and what do I admire most about them?
Day 9 — Journaling for Self-Reflection and Personal Growth.
One person I particularly admire is this young woman. She is pretty, confident, caring, ambitious, and kind, and she is
my daughter.
Her name is Ellen and she turned 18 earlier this year.
Simply Adorable
Only recently I mentioned her in another article when I told about the magical moment when I was able to hold her in my arms for the first time.
The little child gave off an aura of tenderness that wrapped itself around the tormented soul like a warming blanket.
That was back then. Life was not yet as easy as it is today, we were going through hard times. But the innocent little baby whom we called Ellen still created a little piece of paradise and inner peace.
And that vehemently.
Ellen was a baby who didn’t like to be alone and she made that clear.
But who likes to actually be alone?
On the other hand, when she felt that her parents were close, she was happy.
And even today she is a total family person.
Therefore I love her so much, but what do I admire my daughter for?
An Early Fencing Career
As a child, Ellen learned to fence. In doing so, she was quite talented in the sport, so much so that she began competing in tournaments at an early age.
In 2015, Ellen finally reached the peak of her sports career when, at the age of 11, she narrowly missed out on the championship title in her age group in a 10–9 and became the vice-champion of Baden-Württemberg.
Incredible Resilience
If anyone has “thick skin”, it’s my daughter. The fact that she is nevertheless one of the most sensitive people I know makes Ellen unique.
Especially with her brother, who is 2 years older, she always had a close relationship.
Of course, the two of them sometimes quarrel, although this has fortunately decreased significantly in adulthood.
But no matter how things are, Ellen is always attentive and concerned that her brother is doing well.
When she worries, she doesn’t turn to her daily routine as if nothing has happened, but rather she digs deeper. Even though it sometimes gets on her brother’s nerves.
And yet he is lucky to have her.
Caring Beyond Measure
I’m sure most of us know some very caring people. And many of us are ourselves.
Ellen is self-sacrificing.
We still know it from our school days: at some point, we are supposed to be slowly prepared for our professional future and get a taste of the working world during short school internships.
At that time, Ellen — like so many young girls — chose an internship in a nursing home for the elderly.
Her first application was even rejected because unfortunately, many schoolgirls choose the path to the nursing home as an “emergency solution” after they couldn’t find anything else. Thus, the aforementioned institution generally had a hard time letting young girls work for them.
The second application, however, was a direct hit.
Ellen did her two-week internship, at that time she might have been just 14, and more internships followed.
In addition, she came to work voluntarily as often as she could during her vacations.
A Job That Neither I nor Most of Those I Know Would Be Capable Of.
Of course, we are all painfully aware that every man and woman will one day be old and need help. And yet, there are huge hesitations among most people when it comes to taking care of old people.
While only a few people have a problem changing a baby’s diaper, it’s a completely different story with 80- or 90-year-old people in need of care.
And it takes a great deal of sensitivity and empathy to deal appropriately with pensioners suffering from dementia.
In addition, I can hardly imagine what a great psychological burden this can be for the caregivers.
And then, of course, there is death.
People die, that’s the way it goes. They die and we will never again be able to see their smile or listen to their stories.
We have to say goodbye for good.
- After Ellen finished school, 1 “FSJ” (voluntary social year) followed, and then her first training as a geriatric nurse.
But Ellen Accomplished So Much More
At the beginning of 2020, the first Covid cases appeared in Germany and just a few months later the first lockdown was imposed. The first of many.
Many people had to move their work to their homes or were given a leave of absence.
Ellen — not even of age yet, she was just 16 at the time — stayed.
And as one colleague after another dropped out, the workload grew.
Although there was no outbreak of covid at the home where Ellen worked during the entire time, colleagues of her had to help out again and again at other nursing homes that were short of caregivers. And, of course, they were missing where Ellen worked.
Overtime became the norm.
Of course, more was also required on an interpersonal level, since the nursing staff was now the only contact persons for the elderly for several months. After all, visits from relatives were not allowed.
At that time, Ellen was still in training.
A New Challenge
After her training in geriatric nursing, my daughter was looking for a new, even greater challenge.
Since the beginning of this year, she has now been working in the pediatric ward at the hospital as part of a second training program.
For this new phase of her life, she has since moved in with her boyfriend, who already had an apartment in the city where Ellen’s new workplace is located.
Having had to spend over 3 months in the pediatric ICU myself with Ellen’s younger brother, I was able to get a little insight into what the nurses had to do there.
Inserting probes into tiny little nostrils or restraining a crying baby so it doesn’t move are just examples.
On the cancer ward or in psychiatry — both areas are part of the training — the requirements could take on completely different dimensions.
By the way, my daughter just sent me a voice message that I don’t want to keep from you:
“Mom, I haven’t told you this yet, but because Brian has trisomy 21, I can help out so much at work.”
“I’ve had the situation three times now that a mother had a child with Down syndrome here and I just talked to her a little bit about it, and I always said, ‘Ah, my little brother has that, too,’ and so on…”
“And they were all always completely surprised, ‘Oh, really?’ and so…”
“And then for example with the one mother, she was just completely unsure, she was a single parent and her child, the one with Down syndrome, had a bigger sister, 2 years older and she was completely worried about how the children would react to it later when they would be able to recognize it.”
“I was then able to take away her worries, she was completely relieved and that makes me completely happy.”
Isn’t she wonderful?
I know I’m the mother and all… but isn’t she just amazing?
Ellen is definitely someone I admire with all my heart. 💕
Find all my other entries in the 30-Day Journal for Self-Reflection and Personal Growth:
