The Hard Choices

I stood in my mother-in-law Stevie’s room and cried. Stevie had lived with us for three years while dealing with Alzheimer’s. Her condition continued to worsen, but with four children spread out from elementary to high school, it had become increasingly difficult to meet the needs of everyone in my life.

My husband, David, and I had found a facility that offered short stints of care to give full-time caregivers a break. Stevie had just spent two weeks there, which had given me much-needed time with the rest of the family. Now she was ready to return to our house.

The problem was, I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready for the non-stop care she needed when she was awake. I wasn’t ready for the nightly walks she took which required me to get up and guide her back to bed. I wasn’t ready to be stretched so thin that I couldn’t give anyone my best.

“I can’t keep doing this,” I said to David.

“We agreed if this became too much for you, we’d find another solution. Is it time?” he asked.

I nodded. It was time.