Power and Influence

I work at a nursing home and yesterday I was in a resident's room and what I saw really reminded me of our discussion in class. The wife was the patient and the husband the visitor, but when I entered the room the husband was sprawled out napping in the bed and the wife was slumped over in a nursing home chair trying to nap. The wife wasn't bedridden so it was fine that she was out of bed, but it didn't seem like he would have willingly offered his wife the more comfortable bed. It really was quite obvious who must have all the power in the relationship. The wife didn't seem to mind, so that type of power distribution must have worked for them over the years. As a professional it was important for me to realize that if I had asked the husband to give up his spot and allow his wife to lay down in the bed, it could have been awkward for them since he was probably used to getting his way and the wife was used to making sacrifices to please her husband.