Who Was I, Then?

A lesson in devotion, identity, and the self that caregiving asks you to set aside

You cannot disappear in order to care well for someone else.

When Lee moved into Assisted Living, I felt adrift. There was relief in it — quiet, uninterrupted sleep, a body finally allowed to rest. But underneath the relief was something I couldn’t yet name. Unsettled. Untethered.

I had lost myself in caregiving. And now I wasn’t even in that role anymore…