Keeping it real: A confession
June 3 marks the three-and-a-half year anniversary since Kevin’s ALS diagnosis. I am so grateful we have had this time together. Occasionally when we are out and about, someone will shyly sidle up to me and say, “I cared for my husband, too.” “Four years,” says one. “Eight,” says another. What they are really saying is, “I see you.” And I appreciate that. It is good to be seen. The invisibility of most caregiving is, at times, crushing. I hesitate to write that, because I would choose anonymity over the spotlight any day, as being vulnerable makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach. But there is a tendency for people to get the wrong idea about us. They see the joy in Kevin’s smile, and the affection we have for one another. They sit across our kitchen table and sip coffee and feel the peace and gratitude that we have. And then they start to feel like we have it all together an...