Embracing Change
Today’s offering comes from Sue Green.

The surreal world I live in
Thrust there over night
It was a stroke that hit him
Since then just nothing’s right
The frustration of it all
The many hats I wear
The tasks that never end
The new roles that I bear
I wake up in the morning
Wishing for the past
Stick to his routines
And never move too fast
There’s someone living in my house
I know there’s someone here
Why do I feel so all alone
Even when he’s near?
Some days he comes to visit
And talks of things we share
‘tho conversation’s brief
And oft’ too short to bear
I try to see it his way
I try to help him out
I know he faces struggles
For him, no easy bout
A different world he lives in
His own pace that he sets
I try to make him understand
He sometimes tries, and yet
Can I know the effort that it takes
To put together words to talk?
Can I feel his inner struggle
When he tries to walk?
I can only be there
Let him know I’m here
I can sit beside him
And try to ease his fear
It’s a surreal world we both live in
Just ‘one day at a time’
With some days still a struggle
When all is not sublime
What is True for Me: Whether it is a stroke, or a form of dementia, these beautiful words ring true. No doubt this is one of the toughest jobs anyone can do for another human being. It seems to last forever, yet it doesn’t last forever. I am, however, changed forever. And I am changed for the better.