To All the Natumbawums of the World… Thank you!
A caregiver.
A carepartner.
Care: to worry about, be mindful of or mind to, think about, be bothered about, give attention to, think of, nurture, tend to.
Giver: donate to, provide for, supply.
Partner: companion, have a connection with, united with.
Judy wants another name for a caregiver/carepartner for certain people not directly involved with taking care of us (so to speak), and yet they ‘care’ for us. So I have set out on the task of trying to come up with the perfect word. Here’s what I’ve got thus far:
- a worrying companion
- a provider who is mindful of me
- a bothered provider
- an attentive donater
- a nurturing companion
- a tending connector
- a thoughtful unifier
- a worrisome supplier
There are several variations that we could come up with. At first I thought of a caregiver being one with a heart of love. A lovegiver or a lovepartner. Axed those immediately. Too many other connotations.
So I consulted one of my favorite resources – my Thesaurus. Hence, the list above on what the word ‘caregiver/carepartner’ implies when broken down. However, when I think of the word caregiver or carepartner, the synonyms suggested by my Thesaurus didn’t do justice to a person whom we, as PD’ers, value greatly. This is one time I think that old book has failed me.
What image or thoughts do you conjure up when you hear the word ‘caregiver’ or ‘carepartner’? Someone who worries about you? Provides your care? Is a companion, unified in the effort to make life easier? Is s/he thoughtful? Supplies for your needs?
I simply cannot get excited about any of Thesaurus’ suggestions. So – then I thought of using an acrostic. Here is what I came up with, using the first letters of key words from the synonyms of my search:
w – c- p – b – o – g – h – p – a – d – n – t – u – w – m – b – a – s – c – w – u
Those are my letter options. Here’s what I could make out of them (you may be able to find more):
Duwamptum – pronounced doo-wump-tum
Cabubasud – pronounced ca-bubba-sud
Natumbawum – pronounced nah-tum-bah-wum
Gobasaw – pronounced go-buh-saw
Chugawa – pronounced chuh-guh-whuh
Waspogump – pronounced wasp-o-gump
Bushcamut – pronounced bush-ka-mutt
Donutchamp – pronounced do-nut-champ
Bashadapd – pronounced bash- duh -pee-dee
Gorchabam – pronounced gore-chuh-bam
Well, in scanning over my list, I can’t seem to find a word that represents the love, concern, care, and kindness that comes from those that care for us indirectly by offering encouragement, support, love, patience, concern, and so much more. The closest seems to be a Natumbawum.
So, for now, unless someone comes up with a better word, to those who offer endless encouragement to keep pressing on, support when we need strength to literally stand, patience when we want to do it ourselves, love when we don’t act very loveable, gentleness when we are broken and hurting, wit and wisdom when we’re not in our right minds, and so much more, we thank you all.
In short, without all of our Natumbawums, we couldn’t make it. We give your our heartfelt thanks.
