Posts by Louis Summers

🌿 The Phone That Stopped Ringing At first, everyone checked in. The calls, the casseroles, the “let me know if you need anything.” And then, slowly, quietly… it thinned out. The invitations stopped coming, because you always had to say no. The friends drifted, unsure of what to say. And one day you looked up…

🌿 The Family That Suddenly Feels Divided It often starts small. A comment about whether Mom is really okay on her own. A disagreement about the doctor’s advice. A sigh over who’s been showing up and who hasn’t. And before long, the people you grew up with—your own brothers and sisters—feel like they’re on the…

🌿 The Miles In Between The phone call ends, and the quiet rushes back in. You’ve just spent twenty minutes trying to read between the lines. Did they sound more confused than last week? Did they eat today? Was that cough there before? And you’re hundreds of miles away, holding a worry you can’t set…

🌿 The Keys on the Hook For most of their life, the car meant something. It meant Saturday errands and long drives with the windows down. It meant picking up the grandkids, getting to work, going wherever they pleased. It meant I can take care of myself. And now you’ve started to notice things. A…

🌿 The Afternoon That Went Well. It was, against all odds, a good day. They were calm. Maybe even laughing. The morning didn’t unravel. Lunch was easy. For a few hours, you got a glimpse of something that felt almost like before. Or maybe the good part was different. Maybe someone else took over for…

🌿 The Two Lives You Live The laptop closes at five. And the second shift begins. Maybe you took a call in the parking lot on your lunch break—checking in, smoothing over a worry, promising you’d be there soon. Maybe you answered emails with one hand while stirring their dinner with the other. Maybe you…

🌿 The Open Door You turned away for just a moment. The kettle. The phone. A knock at the door. And when you looked back… they were gone. The front door stands open. The street is quiet. And your heart drops into a place it’s never been before. Few moments in caregiving are as frightening…

🌿 The Little Cup of Pills It starts as a small part of the day. A little cup. A glass of water. A familiar routine. But lately, it’s become one of the hardest moments. They turn their head away. They say they already took them. They ask why they have to take “all these” at…

🌿 It Happens So Fast You say something simple. “Let’s sit down for a minute.”“Hold on, not yet.”“We already talked about this.” And suddenly, the mood shifts. They become upset. Defensive. Withdrawn.Their voice changes. Their body language tightens. You pause, confused. “What just happened?” Because to you, it was a normal sentence. But to them,…

🌿 A Simple Task That Becomes Difficult It might seem like a small thing. Changing clothes is part of everyday life—something most of us do without thinking. But in dementia care, even this simple routine can become a point of resistance. They may say: Or they may simply refuse—turning away, becoming upset, or shutting down…