This has been circulating on FB and I thought I'd post it here:
The Creation of Caregivers
When the good Lord was creating caregivers, he was into his sixth day of overtime, when the angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
And the Lord said, "Have you read the spec on this one? She/he has to be completely washable, but not plastic; have 180 moveable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; a kiss that can cure anything from a forgotten love affair to a reassurance of their whereabouts; and six pair of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands ...no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord. "It's the three pairs of eyes that caregivers have to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.
The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through closed doors when s/he asks, "What are you doing in there?" when s/he already knows. Another here, in the back of the head that sees what s/he shouldn't, but what s/he has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a loved one when they goofs up and say, "I understand and I love you," without so much as uttering a word."
"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve gently, "Rest for now. Tomorrow ...
"I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creating something close to myself. Already I have one who heals them self when they are sick, can feed a un-cooperative loved one with a hamburger and quietly take the cookies away and then can get them in the shower to clean up when the dinner is over."
The angel circled the model of the mother very slowly. "She/he's too soft," she sighed.
"But tough!" said the Lord excitedly. "You cannot imagine what the caregiver can do or endure."
"Can she/he think?"
"Not only think, but s/he can reason and compromise," said the Creator. Finally the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.
"There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you, you were trying to put too much into this model."
"It's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear."
"What's it for?"
It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness and pride."