Who Should Care?

Abstract

Having worked passionately on the topic of care for many years, I often try to imagine myself in the situation of requiring care. What will my own future look like? If I should be fortunate enough to reach old age, will I be able to live on my own until the end? Or, will I have to move into other forms of accommodation with various possibilities for support and care? What will my life look like on an everyday basis? For myself, but also in conversations with others, I ask myself what the ideal situation would be for me? Which picture of living in old age would comfort me not only then but also now? Having thought about these issues repeatedly and having had many discussions and debates with family, friends and colleagues, one strikingly common demand arises: in all the different scenarios imagined, the setting for living and receiving care can change and be adapted to particular circumstances. What is really important for a comforting scenario, however, are the relations with others. Who will be there for me? Who will actually carry out the necessary practical tasks and who will care for me emotionally? How will I relate to my partner, friends, relatives and carers? Who will I relate to on a daily basis? Care itself represents a close and intimate relationship. Particular (imagined) bonds, most importantly family, are at the heart of imagining this very intimate relationship.