I admire those who can cut hair and effortlessly complete manicures. How can they cut carefully and make someone look so good? How can they cut fingernails without causing a bleed? How do they convince someone who doesn’t want the service done?
On Sunday, my dad casually announced, ” You need to trim Mom’s nails.” Hoping I didn’t hear him correctly, I asked him what he said and heard him repeat the dreaded words. Oh no. I am not a beautician, but then I thought, ” I trimmed my kids’ nails when they were young. It can’t be that bad.”
Upon entering Mom’s room, I decided to complete the task immediately. She initially resisted every attempt. “No, I don’t want you do to that, ” she said. ” I am lazy right now. Do it later.” Being a task- oriented person, I persisted, but she frequently pulled her fingers away. How DO nail technicians do this job? However, when I said, “Dad wanted me to do this”, her resistance diminished and I finished the job, despite trimming one nail a little too short. I wish I could say they looked like the picture below, but that would definitely be a lie. I know that I am not a beautician, but caregiving doesn’t mean it’s perfect. It just is about giving care with love.
A Journey Worth Remembering 
My niece came and “did Grandma’s nails” every couple of weeks. She would trim her nails and bring a couple of colors for Mom to choose from if she wanted them painted. Liz made it a time of fellowship rather than Mom feeling like it was a chore and Mom looked forward to those times. It’s hard to give dignity to those who are losing the ability to do things for themselves. We often found ourselves having to get creative so as to not make Mom feel like a burden, but that instead there were things we were blessed to be able to do with her. Nails was an easier one for us. Toenails were another story though and we were very happy to find that medicare paid for a podiatrist to come to trim those (and thankfully Dad’s too)!
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What a wonderful memory! Thank you for sharing, especially the sentence” it’s hard to give dignity to those who are losing the ability to do things for themselves”.
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