I never expected to make the journey
that pulls you toward helplessness
and illness and demands you step up.
The journey that structures your life around
spoon feedings during Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune
and whatever else crawls across the tv
while you’re coaxing your loved one
to eat. It was a journey of patience and perseverance,
of constant advocacy for excellence of care,
of schedules and massages, hair brushing and body-turning.
It was a journey of acceptance for the inevitable
but without a thought of giving up.
It was a journey I was honored to travel, one
in which I learned so much, and I would do it
all again. For you.

*****

Poetry prompt courtesy of QuillsEdge Press:

I always expected to make this journey:
Alternatively: I never expected to make this journey