‘It’s clearly in our genes’
Image: Nine IJff
Deborah (52), daughter of Yvonne (70), is married to André (53) and mother of son Desny (27) and daughter Angie (23). All three women work in healthcare.
Deborah: “My mother Yvonne and I work for the same informal care organisation, Saar aan Huis. We support elderly people with dementia so that they can live longer at home. We put their house in order, but also drink coffee with them or go for a walk together.
Recently my mother and I went to lunch on a boat with two clients. As we stand on the deck looking at the water, one of the men, who has a crush on her, passionately slaps my mother on the ass. You could wipe us out. Apart from the fun, it is especially rewarding work. When a client strokes my head and says, “Thank you for all you do for me,” I melt. That’s what you do it for, although Yvonne and I don’t call it a job; it is working with our hearts.
Read also – These women take care of someone else’s child: ‘My primal instinct reacted immediately’ >
Informal care
Caring for others is second nature to us and clearly in our genes, because my daughter Angie is a caretaker in a care home. She is the only one of the three of us with a care certificate. My mother was a hairdresser and worked in a brasserie for years.
“When she heard my enthusiastic stories, she said: ‘Can’t they use someone else?’”
I’ve also had those jobs and started caring two years ago. I was ready for something new, didn’t feel like going back to college and saw from Angie, who always said that healthcare was something for me, how beautiful the profession is. Yvonne had just retired. But when she heard my enthusiastic stories, she said: ‘Can’t they use someone else?’ She is still very young and lively. Ha, when I’m on vacation with her they think she’s my sister.
Three generations
Some of the clients we care for together are clear enough to know that we are family. One man jokingly calls Yvonne his mother-in-law when she enters his home: “If I had met your daughter forty years earlier, I would have married her.” Another gave me a flower and also brought one for my mother.
Angie worked for a while as an on-call worker at the same care organization. She now has a permanent job at a nursing home for the elderly, but we still spar regularly. Then I text her: ‘Which ointment helps with this ailment?’ or she teaches me how best to help someone up. She has only just started, but I hope to continue doing this work for years to come.
My mother will continue as long as she can. She has just completed a course to take her clients on a duo bike, so it will not be due to her enthusiasm.”
Receive Kek Mama with a discount and free shipping on your doormat every month! Subscribe now and pay only €4.19 per edition.
