{"id":21672,"date":"2026-03-11T11:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/he-put-his-dreams-on-hold-to-be-a-caregiver-then-found-the-inspiration-he-needed\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:12:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:12:40","slug":"he-put-his-dreams-on-hold-to-be-a-caregiver-then-found-the-inspiration-he-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/caregiving\/hope-and-inspiration\/stories-of-hope-for-caregivers\/he-put-his-dreams-on-hold-to-be-a-caregiver-then-found-the-inspiration-he-needed\/","title":{"rendered":"He Put His Dreams on Hold to Be a Caregiver, Then Found the Inspiration He Needed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mom hooked her arm through mine. We walked slowly across the back porch, or at least as fast as Mom could go, taking in the autumnal colors. \u201cWhat\u2019s bothering you?\u201d she asked, squeezing my arm. She knew something was wrong. She always knew.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I feel a bit\u2026lost,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

The pine trees and butterfly bushes were beautiful. Yet they reminded me that just months earlier I\u2019d been living in a cramped apartment in Harlem, chasing a dream that now seemed further away than ever.<\/p>\n

I love to perform and have always wanted to live in New York City. I had studied chemistry and musical theater at Wheeling Jesuit University. Months before I graduated, my father passed away after a courageous battle with brain cancer.<\/p>\n

Shortly after I graduated, my mother fell ill from septic shock. I decided to put my plans to move to NYC on hold to help care for her. That caregiving lasted 10 months until she recovered. Finally I was able to move to that apartment in Harlem.<\/p>\n

I went to auditions and worked catering gigs to pay the rent. I met a lot of talented people. But I recognized a common thread in those I met: negativity. What I\u2019d been through with Mom and Dad made me want to make my mark in a positive way. But how?<\/p>\n

I created a blog called NYC Smile 4 Me, <\/em>which focused on the question \u201cWhat makes you smile<\/a>?\u201d I\u2019d record people\u2019s answers and post them online. Just that question alone made people smile\u2014and God smiled on my efforts.<\/p>\n

Soon I started receiving press passes for red carpet events. I interviewed stars like Jonah Hill, Helen Mirren and Bette Midler. Everyone had a different #SmileStory. \u201cGetting asked that question makes me smile,\u201d Chita Rivera said. \u201cChildren!\u201d Steve Martin said. \u201cMy dog, Thunder Pup,\u201d Kristin Chenoweth said. \u201cA garden full of ivy and knots,\u201d Molly Ringwald said. I was dubbed Boh the Smile Guy. People loved the videos I put up on my YouTube channel. I was making people smile!<\/p>\n

I was working at the U.S. Open when my sister, Chesla, called. \u201cThey found something on Mom\u2019s lung,\u201d she said. I went home immediately, praying all the way.<\/p>\n

For the next eight months, I split my time between New York and Wilkes-Barre Township. Ten days working\u2014glamorous parties and celebrity interviews. Ten days sitting with Mom while she received chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

All those three-hour car rides gave me plenty of time to think. What do I really want to do? <\/em>Make people smile, of course. But it was too hard when I was worried about Mom.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom, I need to move home full time,\u201d I told her.<\/p>\n

I waited for her to list all of the reasons I shouldn\u2019t move back. Mom had always been my biggest supporter. She knew exactly how much I would be giving up, just when things were coming together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that\u2019s what you think you need to do,\u201d she said, \u201cthen okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

I uploaded a video to my YouTube channel explaining why I was moving. \u201cYou\u2019re making a terrible mistake,\u201d one of my friends said. \u201cDon\u2019t throw everything away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, but Mom was Mom. She came first, no matter what the sacrifice. On the eve of my three-year anniversary of living in New York City, I packed up my Harlem apartment.<\/p>\n

I immediately threw myself into my caregiving responsibilities. Doctor\u2019s appointments. Laundry. Serving meals. Playing shut-the-box. Putting together puzzles. Dispensing medications. With each passing day, my caregiving duties made my dreams seem more and more delayed. What did I have to show for myself now? I remembered when the Today <\/em>show\u2019s Natalie Morales interviewed me and said, \u201cI appreciate you. There needs to be more people like you. I believe in you.\u201d I didn\u2019t regret being with Mom\u2014not for a moment\u2014but there was so much I wasn\u2019t doing.<\/p>\n

That day on the back porch, walking slowly with Mom\u2014the only exercise she was up for\u2014it took me a while before I could really answer her. What was <\/em>wrong? \u201cIf I\u2019m going to be here, my smile mission is going to be here too,\u201d I said finally.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople need smiles everywhere,\u201d Mom said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot you can do for others right here. Go and see what resources the mayor\u2019s office has for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

NYC Smile 4 Me <\/em>in Wilkes-Barre Township? Mom was right. People everywhere need smiles. I checked to see when the next town council meeting would be. Mom and I kept talking and hatched an idea.<\/p>\n

A week later, I entered the town hall, an imposing brick building. The council and mayor sat around a large round table. They spent an hour discussing town business, and then the mayor asked if there were any new agenda items. I stood up, took a deep breath, smiled and began to speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a proposal,\u201d I said. \u201cSome of you know the work I do with my smile mission. And since moving back to care for my mom, I haven\u2019t been able to find a way to bring it to my hometown. Well, I would like to put on an event here for our town\u2014a Smile Festival.\u201d I outlined what it might be like, a sort of fall festival, with free activities for everybody, and lots of food. Food definitely made folks smile.<\/p>\n

The council took it under advisement. The next day the mayor called to ask me to meet with him in his office.<\/p>\n

\u201cChris,\u201d he said, \u201cOctober 21 is officially Smile Day! You\u2019re in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

I hurried home to tell Mom the exciting news.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom, guess what?\u201d I said when I burst through the door. \u201cWe\u2019re in charge of a community-wide fall festival on October 21!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOctober 21?\u201d Mom glanced at the calendar. \u201cHoney, that\u2019s only four weeks away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four weeks. How on earth were we going to pull this off? It wasn\u2019t like going to some Manhattan opening where I just stood on the red carpet with my microphone. I had to make this red carpet out of whole cloth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do we start?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get to work. We\u2019re going to have to be creative,\u201d Mom said.<\/p>\n

We cleared off the kitchen table. Mom took out a pad of paper and began making lists. Places to call: the fire department, the police department, the print shop. I put out a call on Facebook. \u201cSmile Day is happening. My mom and I need your help. Send people and ideas our way, and we\u2019ll do the rest!\u201d<\/p>\n

The responses poured in. A friend helped set up interviews with local radio shows to get the word out. A dentist donated prizes. A college fraternity offered to oversee the ring toss. A Girl Scout troop volunteered to run a face-painting booth. The police department offered a meet and greet with its K-9 unit. The fire department said they\u2019d cook the pizza and hot dogs. The yogurt shop volunteered its penguin mascot for pictures.<\/p>\n

I worried that all this planning was too tiring for Mom, but she waved off my concerns. \u201cAll of this excitement is a nice diversion from my numb hands,\u201d she said. They were a side effect from her chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

The morning of the festival was sunny and crisp. Mom and I arrived early to oversee a balloon delivery. Everybody had a million questions: Chris, when should we put out the cupcakes? Chris, when will we present the Dr. Stanley T. Bohinski Smile Day award? Chris, where should people park their cars? Chris, when do we give out the raffle prizes?<\/em><\/p>\n

My big question to myself: What if nobody shows up? <\/em>At 10 a.m., the doors opened. By 10:15, the fire hall was packed. The mayor pulled me aside. \u201cBoh, this is the most attended town event in recent history!\u201d I looked around the room. Senior citizens playing Bingo. An Elvis impersonator rockin\u2019 and rollin\u2019. Families dancing. Parents smiling. Kids winning prizes.<\/p>\n

In that moment, I realized the power of a smile<\/a>. And I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. My own dreams weren\u2019t delayed; they were just coming true in a different way than I had ever envisioned.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been living at home for over a year now, and currently Mom\u2019s health is on the upswing. I\u2019m still a caregiver, making pancakes for Mom at 3 a.m., when her medication keeps her awake, celebrating milestones like the day she was able to drive again. But she also acts as my <\/em>caregiver, slipping confetti-stuffed cards into my bag when I make the occasional foray into New York for some event, always welcoming me home as I pull into the driveway. I pray that her health continues to improve.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I make each moment count. With a smile.<\/p>\n

For more inspiring stories, subscribe to <\/em>Guideposts<\/strong><\/a> magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mom hooked her arm through mine. We walked slowly across the back porch, or at least as fast as Mom could go, taking in the autumnal colors. \u201cWhat\u2019s bothering you?\u201d she asked, squeezing my arm. She knew something was wrong. She always knew. \u201cI guess I feel a bit\u2026lost,\u201d I said. The pine trees and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[255],"tags":[210,25,38,11,39],"ppma_author":[1044],"class_list":["post-21672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories-of-hope-for-caregivers","tag-caregiving","tag-family","tag-happiness","tag-helping-others","tag-joy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHe Put His Dreams on Hold to Be a Caregiver, Then Found the Inspiration He Needed - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"He Put His Dreams on Hold to Be a Caregiver, Then Found the Inspiration He Needed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mom hooked her arm through mine. 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