15April2025 Diary,
Today someone again tossed the same snide remark at me, that thinlipped smile and that tone that mixes condescension with contempt: Youre just cleaning up after other peoples lives. It isnt the first time theyve said it, and I doubt it will be the last.
In the past I would have just turned away, let my eyes drift, because I saw no point in arguing. This time I decided not to stay silent.
Yes, I clean. But those who sneer at the word only see the surface. They dont grasp what lies behind it, because I do far more than simply wash.
I handle old age with a tenderness reserved for something fragile and helpless. I feed those who can no longer lift a spoon. I brush hair, trim nails, help with dressing. Sometimes I just sit beside them, quietly, when the pain is not in the body but in the spirit. I listen to stories that no one else seems interested in, yet for them those tales are an entire world, warm memories that brighten their final years.
I look after people who once raised families, built homes, taught children, tended gardens, served in the NHS, and now they themselves need support. In these daily, routine tasks there is no humiliation, only dignity. Not weakness, but honour.
This isnt dirty work. Its an act of humanity. Its patience, love, and the ability to remain a decent person when others turn away. When a person is powerless, wholly dependent, true kindness is tested.
When someone throws that comment with disdain, I think: they simply havent stood in the shoes of those who truly need help. They equate strength with money, a highearning job in the City, a fancy title. But real strength is staying human beside anothers frailtynever walking away, never looking down, never demeaning.
I could not keep a job that requires flattery, deceit, or pretending for the sake of profit. Yet its often those very roles that earn respect, while our work is undervalued, as if were beneath everyone else.
I know thats not true. In our quiet moments there is dignity. In our hands there is warmth that restores a persons sense of self. In our work there is a heart that never tires of compassion.
One day those who scoff will find themselves unable to lift a foot without aid. Perhaps then theyll realise my job isnt about washing bodies. Its about returning humanity, a touch that heals, a warmth that whispers: youre still alive, you matter, you havent been forgotten.
So yes, I tend to other peoples loved ones. I do it with respect, gentleness and pride. Maybe someday that will be me or them. And I hope that, when the time comes, someone will be there to do the same with love, without scorn, without fear, simplyas a decent human being should.
Lesson learned: True strength lies not in titles or paychecks, but in the willingness to care for anothers weakness as if it were your own.
