Dear Caregiver,
- Juli Henderson
- Dec 22, 2025
- 2 min read
I think about you every day.
I think of you wrapping gifts till midnight, managing diaper changes and medication titration schedules around meals, and balancing all the physical and emotional movement in your home.
I see you choosing smaller holiday celebrations, knowing overstimulation will surely affect the “quiet caregiving” you have chosen this year.
I feel the weight of your desire to just enjoy a gentler holiday.
You may need space to find your joy in uncrowded rooms. Taking a break for yourself may seem like an indulgence but remember the season for joy is not just for the strong and healthy. The story of love comes to all of us whether we are stable, weary or spent. I want you to know that care for yourself this Christmas.
The things we see you doing for your loved one are crucial and necessary. There is no getting around that! You are the glue holding together multiple pieces of your caregiving puzzle. You know all of this.
But what I want you to know right now, in whatever moment finds you reading my letter, is that you are loved, held and cherished. If no one tells you today, please hear me clearly:
you are loved.
I’m here if you want to talk, cry, or just sit quietly. Caregiving will always change you. I am here for the unavoidable changes, the grieving and the loss.
Today, I feel joy knowing I have the privilege of walking with you. I hope you will write soon and let me know how I can step up for you.
With much love and respect,
Juli
Listening Library: “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (Birdy)
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles
Will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
Next year all our troubles
Will be miles away
Ooh
Once again, as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us, once more
Someday soon we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now
Songwriters: Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas lyrics © Sony, ATV Music Publishing LLC
Comments