What do you see when you see me?
Do you see what I’ve come to be?
Do you see the mask I wear
That hides the truth of all I bear?
Do you see my strength, my skill
My constant running all uphill?
Do you see my desperate hope
That with each change I still can cope?
Do you hear my envy when
You speak of going out with friends?
Do you know that I rarely rest
In trying to keep up and do my best?
How I long for days of past
Coming to work and leaving last.
Being able to devote my time
To whatever project came to mind.
Receiving praise for a job well done
Knowing respect from everyone.
Being able to come and go
Keeping current and on my toes.
Having others come to me
Help and assistance I gave for free.
Now my work is second place
My career gone missing without a trace.
My focus now is giving care
I miss my old life but don’t despair.
I know that what I give each day
Means more to me than praise or pay.
I know without my constant watch
His health decline I could not stop.
Though my efforts cannot cure
With my help he can endure.
Knowing tomorrow is not guaranteed
We live each day feeling blessed indeed.
We struggle, we hope, we laugh, we cry
We commit to each other until we die.
I never dreamed my life would be
Given to someone dependent on me.
I saw my future big and bright
Moving up the ladder my goals in sight.
Now those goals seem out of reach
But new ones came to heal the breach.
What do you see when you see me?
Not, I hope, who I used to be.
My own desires now I do not seek
Instead His will I hope to keep.
My life’s new purpose I hope you see
Is to help us both be all we can be.
This article originally appeared on Multiplesclerosis.Net by Health-Union, LLC, and has been reposted with permission.
