I love our support groups and the network we have in this community. There are so many wonderful people on similar journeys who are ready and willing to share their expertise and their love with us, it really helps me keep going. Yet, at the same time, I often look around me and feel like I should be doing more. I see people who seem to have so much more capacity than I do. They are involved in volunteering, or active in hobbies, some are still working, while providing excellent care for their partners. How do they do it all and do it so well?

What I need to remind myself of is that everyone has different gifts, abilities and capacities. What I am doing is right for us as long as it is moving us forward in our journey. If, and when, I have time or the energy to add other activities, they need to be continuing in that direction. I don’t need to add things to my life that simply add stress or create additional work, being a CarePartner is enough of a load. If I am trying to do something extra to impress others or to somehow inflate my own self-worth, I need to take a step back and remember what really matters, taking good care of us first.

It is time to stop comparing myself to others and recognize that I am who I am meant to be and that I am doing what needs to be done. Are there other people who are doing more than I am? Definitely, but that doesn’t mean that I am not doing enough. I need to accept that my life is unique and that my response to it is sufficient to meet the needs. Taking care of myself, my home and my husband is all that matters, and no one can do better than me in any of those jobs.