Life has been busier than usual since getting back from holidays. It is the end of the school year, which means extra activities, projects due, and the usual chaos that comes with wrapping things up before summer. Ten days away also led to a lot of catching up in the garden. On top of that, we came home to find our beloved dog unwell and, after a week of tests and appointments, she was diagnosed with diabetes. So begins our new routine of timed meals and twice daily insulin injections. As anyone who has ever loved a pet can attest to, it is incredibly difficult watching our furry family members decline in health as they age.
Ironically, I used to dread caring for diabetic patients so much that I nearly dropped out of nursing school because of it. Life definitely has a way of teaching us lessons we never expected to learn. Thankfully, I learned a long time ago that I am capable of doing hard things.
I think caregiving also changes the way you move through the world. Whether it is patients, family members, friends, or even our pets, loving something means accepting a certain degree of vulnerability and uncertainty. It means showing up consistently, even when things are inconvenient, exhausting, emotionally heavy, or completely outside of your control. Over time, you realize that so much of life is not about fixing things, but about being present through them.
There has also been a lot happening in our community lately, as I am sure is true for many communities right now. We have experienced several significant losses of young people to suicide. Any loss of life is tragic, but there is an especially profound heartbreak when someone dies so young, with so much life still ahead of them. From personal experience, I can say that this type of loss carries a unique and complicated kind of grief. The people left behind are often burdened with endless questions about what they could have done differently, along with overwhelming feelings of anger, guilt, sadness, and despair.
Working in healthcare and in the community, I am constantly reminded that people are often carrying far more than we can see from the outside. Sometimes it is grief. Sometimes it is loneliness, addiction, illness, burnout, financial stress, or fear. Often, people are doing their best just to make it through the day while appearing fine to everyone around them. I think that is part of why kindness matters so much. Not in a superficial way, but in the genuine human sense of slowing down enough to recognize one another.
My heart goes out to everyone in our community currently experiencing grief and loss. If there is anything these tragedies remind us of, it is the importance of being a little softer and kinder with one another. We rarely know the full extent of what someone else may be carrying. If someone crosses your mind, or if you notice someone struggling, do not hesitate to reach out. A message, a conversation, an offer of help, or even a simple smile may mean far more to that person than you realize.
This work and this life have taught me that suffering is far more common than most people realize, but so is resilience. Sometimes all we can do is continue showing up for one another in small, consistent ways and trust that those moments matter.
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