I’m engaged with Evelyn every day in one way or another. And yet in many ways, I’m living my life without her. It’s a surreal valley, and I’m trying not to stumble.

I needed a friend to help me cope with my guilt about what I was feeling.

‘Nothing new’ is my report for the week, and I’m quite happy to write about it.

Accommodating change is our weekly challenge. I know this. Why does it still shock me?

We live in an age of constant change, even though our instinct is to resist it. But for caregivers like me, facing change is a weekly challenge.

What is really changing in the deterioration happening before our eyes? And what will never change? A thoughtful question led me to ponder issues beyond what I’m seeing today.

Different is the category for every aspect of our life right now. Christmas will simply fit the pattern.

Another reunion with friends we’ve known for decades prompts so many memories, along with reflection on all that’s changed.

The small or sometimes not-so-small changes in our routine continue to mount up.

We’re glad to see her again, but I’ve decided I just can’t give Christmas all she may want from me. And that’s OK.

I need slowly (or maybe not so slowly) to come to terms with the realization that caregiving is now my primary duty, not something added on or just accommodated.