By Nancy Patrick

When I was a kid, some of my friends learned a funny fact in their biology class. They saw a chart that listed the percentages of all the elements in the human body and how much they would be worth monetarily (Human Body’s Worth). 

I even found a website that lists the values of the human body’s parts for insurance purposes (Insurance Values). Depending on your mood on any given day, I guess you could either justify your value or dismiss it as worthless.

I delight that most societies do not place a dollar value on the worth of people. I do know, however, that most of us like to think we have value in the simple fact of our humanity. I also know that our society places more value on some jobs than on other jobs, thus ranking human value according to income or education. 

That is a very subjective value judgment, though. Everyone knows that business executives make tons of money. Other professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and financial advisors tend to make more money than non-professionals.

However, many tradespeople make excellent incomes.  I often told my high school students that my plumber, electrician, and carpenter made a lot more money than I did as a teacher. I also reminded them that refuse collectors, not known for high salaries, may seem to live low on the social totem pole, but I would surely miss them if they went on strike. 

As I have witnessed the new government initiative to reduce the size of the bureaucracy, I have thought about people’s value in their jobs and in their individual lives. 

I once taught for an institution in the midst of financial distress. As the administrators pondered ways to cut the budget, they asked all of us to write an explanation to justify our department’s place in the faculty. The request stunned me because I never thought an English department in a liberal arts college had to justify its existence.

It seemed to me that employers would already know why they offer positions within an established department. I empathize with the government employees who find themselves jobless through no fault of their own. They accepted their jobs in good faith that the positions were valid.

As I see government employees trying to justify their existences in their jobs, I started thinking about my own value since I retired and don’t accomplish as much as I once did. Six days a week I cook lunch for my husband and myself. We do go out one day a week, so I don’t cook that day.

My jobs also include laundry and ironing. My husband and I share these chores, but he makes the bed and changes the sheets because those tasks hurt my back (which has endured many surgeries for degenerative spine, including a fracture). 

I do the ironing, which presents a little difficulty, so I sit on a stool that positions me correctly under the ironing board. That way I don’t have to stand too long (my back and hips seize when I am on my feet too long).

In spite of my lack of productivity, I believe the people who share my life still value me. I cannot always put outline bullets for what I accomplish, but I focus on kindness and willingness to try to be useful. Oh, yes—I also try to do a Hasfit exercise routine for seniors about three times a week (Hasfit).

I make Gracie’s (my dog) food rather than forcing her to eat packaged food. It is a lot of trouble, but I think she appreciates it. Gracie’s part in my life cannot be valued monetarily.

She came to us as a rescue, sick with heartworms and emotionally fragile. We have nursed her and nourished her and loved her, expecting nothing in return.

She “repays” me by napping and dreaming and making little yapping sounds as her eyelids flutter. When she wakes and sees me, she immediately rolls on her back so I can rub her tummy (she stays that way until I stop rubbing).

I noticed a young woman the other day in a nail salon. Her mom came in for a manicure and told her daughter, a young adult, to sit on the couch and wait for her. The extremely diminutive young woman resembled a doll with her Dutch-boy haircut. The young lady exhibited obvious signs of some type of syndrome.

As I watched her play with her video game, I noticed how well-behaved and content she seemed. I feel sure this mother loved and valued her daughter’s personhood. 

The young woman will always remain her mother’s child. She will never contribute monetarily to her family. She seems unaware that her differences might affect others’ attitudes toward her. Her simplicity and innocence surely bring joy to her family and others.

Research varies as to the cost of rearing a child to the age of eighteen, but estimates range from $300,000 to $400,000 (ChildRearing). In spite of that, on most days parents do not want to send their children back to the stork.

And so, whenever families or organizations need to adjust their budgets, I hope they will consider not only the monetary value of a budget item but its intrinsic value to the whole.  Some things are just priceless!  

Nancy Patrick is a retired teacher who lives in Abilene and enjoys writing