"Behind every person facing serious illness is often someone quietly holding everything together. Sound familiar?"
That's how Vanessa began a LinkedIn post this week. She found the perfect way to describe something Larry and I have known for years.
Today's Love Note is in honor of Vanessa.
Vanessa sits on our board. But this week, she wasn't speaking as a board member.
She was speaking as a daughter. And as a mom.
Every day, Vanessa stands in the middle of two people she loves.
One is her mom, a lung cancer survivor. The other is her daughter, who lives with Rett syndrome.
She shows up for both.
She wrote that caregiving is rooted in love.
She's right. But love can also be exhausting.
Love often looks ordinary.
It's driving to appointments.
Filling prescriptions.
Sitting in waiting rooms.
Remembering medications.
Holding someone else's fear while quietly carrying your own.
And then waking up the next morning...and doing it all over again. That's the part we rarely see.
Every diagnosis creates two journeys.
One belongs to the patient. The other belongs to the caregiver.
That second journey is often invisible.
It's one of the reasons we created Caring for Caregivers through The Zero Negative Foundation.
Because gratitude doesn't pay the grocery bill.
Sometimes caregivers need groceries.
Gas money.
Help paying rent.
A night off.
Sometimes they simply need someone to remember...that they matter, too.
Years ago, I started Love, Zero Negative because I believe what we carry matters.
That what we choose to buy can be intentional, and have a purpose beyond itself.
Every Love, Zero Negative bag carries more than your everyday essentials.
It carries hope.
It carries compassion.
It carries love.
And through Caring for Caregivers, it helps carry the people who have been carrying everyone else.
Vanessa said it best:
"Caregivers deserve to be seen, supported, and cared for, too."
From now through Labor Day, 100% of the proceeds from every Love, Zero Negative bag will support our Caring for Caregivers initiative.
If you already have a bag, or want to support the mission directly, you can make a tax-deductible donation to The Zero Negative Foundation.
→ Donate to Caring for Caregivers
This is the first of many.
Every week, we'll share someone whose love is quietly changing another person's life. Because the people holding everyone else together deserve to be seen, too.
Do you know someone whose caregiving deserves to be honored?
Simply reply to this email and tell me about them, I'd love to share their story.
Question of the Week: Who carried you through one of the hardest seasons of your life?
Love,
Jenn
P.S. Thank you, Vanessa, for reminding all of us that behind so many stories of survival is another story that deserves to be told.