24 Comments
User's avatar
Melanie's avatar

Excellent conveyance! I cannot imagine. So beautifully written! Thank you!

Denise Servais's avatar

Thank you Melanie for your kind words and for reading it!

Melanie's avatar

You are a very talented writer. I subscribed but can’t pay yet. I found you through Chris B Writes (sp). It’s odd, but as much as I avidly follow independent media outlets on Substack on politics, I subscribe (free and paid) to writers who rarely write (at least not overtly write about politics!). To quote “The Reluctant Messiah, author, Richard Bach: “Perception, use it or lose it.” It’s old, (1977), but brilliant. Keep up the good work.

Denise Servais's avatar

Thank you so much, that really means a lot to me. Please don’t worry about paid subscriptions. I’m just glad you’re here and reading. I appreciate your thoughtful words.

Wayne Christensen's avatar

Masterful writing. The isolation of the caregiver. A world of its own.

Denise Servais's avatar

Thank you. Caregiving can feel like its own little world sometimes. I’m grateful it came through in the writing.

Wayne Christensen's avatar

A caregiver’s silo is often opaque. Writing it to the world is one way to make the silo walls more transparent so you can see the other silos and know you do not labor with love alone.

Susan J Hilger's avatar

There’s so much you can’t say in a parking lot, some call it managing with grace. But it’s hard some days. Thanks for sharing your world with us. 💜

Denise Servais's avatar

Thank you Susan for taking the time to read this.

Susan J Hilger's avatar

Of course

The Together Hub's avatar

It is so inspiring how you put in words what so many of us think and feel.

There are some compliments that, even though we understand where they are coming from, they don't feel like a compliment. They actually add some extra pressure on us caregivers...

Denise Servais's avatar

I’m glad it resonated. Thanks for taking the time to read it!

Grace McClure's avatar

"My hands always give me away, twisting together or clutching my purse like it might drift off if I let go."—Loved this line.

Denise Servais's avatar

Thanks for reading Grace!

Miriam-Rachel's avatar

The context in which people say it to me is different, but I despise when people say, "I could never do what you do." I find it othering and narcissistic. Thanks for another great piece of writing!

Denise Servais's avatar

Thank you for the nice words and for reading it!

Jane C's avatar

This is painfully beautiful! Thank you.

Denise Servais's avatar

Thank you Jane for the kind words and taking the time to read this.

Homeschool Path Coach's avatar

What a beautifully written piece. I felt so much of this. Thanks for sharing and helping all of us mommas feel more seen!

Scaffolding Grace's avatar

Thank you for such an honest, quietly vulnerable piece. There’s a particular loneliness in parenting a neurodivergent child... the kind that sits beneath the competence. I felt that longing for the kind of uncomfortable silence you can share with someone who truly gets it.

Denise Servais's avatar

You described it perfectly. The outside looks capable. The inside can feel very alone. Thank you for your message and taking the time to read my post!

Chris B. Writes's avatar

Denise, you are in my head on this one. Wow.

Denise Servais's avatar

That might be the best compliment, thank you!

Veronica Yazmin's avatar

This feels very real. The things we carry don’t always match the spaces we’re in. I appreciate how honestly you named that.