The Wiccan Christian

I work in the healthcare field, specifically a PCA. I have spent my entire life caring for other people in one way or another. I guess it’s just in my DNA.

My first “job” was taking care of my dying grandpa when I was about eight (8) years old. After my grandmother died I guess you could say he gave up on life. He loved her and missed her terribly. A lot of times I feel like he died of a broken heart. But in reality he died of lung cancer. He just gave up.

He came to live with us shortly after my grandmother passed. He was diagnosed not too long after. My mother put it on me to take care of his needs. So, that’s what I did. I bathed him, cleaned up after him, coerced him to eat, etc.

In return for me caring for him he gave me, what I called, a treasure chest. It was a tin container in which he kept a lock on. He gave me the treasure chest and the key for the lock. He told me that was all he had to give for his appreciation. I didn’t expect anything for caring for him. It just felt natural. But I accepted it at his prompting.

Being eight (8) years old a treasure chest is pretty exciting. I opened it up and it was full of Pennie’s. I felt like I had struck gold. Pennies at that age was a mighty big deal. My siblings were jealous. But nobody else wanted the responsibility, so I spent my treasure all on myself. I wish I still had that treasure chest. I don’t care about the money that was in it. I just wish I would’ve kept the chest.

That was my first “healthcare position”. And I’ve been taking care of people ever since.