Some weeks ask more of you than you feel like you have to give. Last week was heavy.
And this week didn’t let up either.
My sister was going through a crisis, and everything in me shifted into caretaker mode. The goal was simple: keep her out of the hospital. That meant infusions, multiple times during the week, managing pain, watching closely, hoping we were doing enough.
It’s a different kind of weight when you’re trying to hold someone together.
And at the same time, life didn’t pause.
I still had to be in the office every day, which, in itself, felt like a mission. Waking up early, pushing through exhaustion, showing up like everything was normal when it wasn’t. Moving between two worlds: one where I had responsibilities, expectations, deadlines… and another where I was just trying to make sure my sister was okay.
That kind of split will wear you down. But I wasn’t alone.
My village showed up in ways that reminded me I don’t have to carry everything by myself. My son and husband stepped in, helped where they could, and made space for me to breathe even when I felt like I couldn’t.
And still, my body felt it.
Over time, stress has started showing up in ways I couldn’t ignore. My hair was breaking, and something as simple as figuring out what to do with it every day felt overwhelming. So I cut it. Not out of style, not out of trend, but out of necessity. Out of needing one less thing to manage. One less decision. One small way to take control of something.
I recently put in braids, hoping to make things easier… but even that didn’t go smoothly. My skin reacted, and it was just another reminder that sometimes, even the things we do to make life simpler don’t land the way we expect.
At some point, you just have to pause and say it:
Life has been lifing.
Not in a light, joking way, but in a real, layered, overwhelming way.
But in the middle of all of this, there is something I know for sure.
My sister is doing better.
We made it through the week.
I was supported.
I am still standing.
And God is still good.
Not because everything went perfectly.
Not because it was easy.
But because even in the middle of the chaos, I was held.
I don’t have a polished lesson from this moment.
I’m still in it.
But I do know this:
Some seasons are not about thriving.
They are about holding everything together long enough to see the other side.
And right now, that is enough.
xoxoxo
Meli Mel