Robert Whitfield MD describes caring for his dying mother and the intimate tasks that came with it. He argues for reframing obligation as opportunity, turning "have to" into "get to" as a way to find meaning in hard moments.
And I think we also live in a world of have to, rather than get to. You know, my mom was dying of cancer, and she was wasting away, and it was like a month before she passed. And I remember she couldn't go to the bathroom by herself. You know, like, I had to carry her to the bathroom. You know, she couldn't eat. You know, it was hard for her to get any food down. You know, she couldn't drive, you know, and at a time when it had moved to the brain, she couldn't communicate well, she couldn't hear. And we spend, you know, all of our days worrying about much stuff.
